They foresee a hit to tourism and consumption in China

They foresee a hit to tourism and consumption in China due to the outbreak of Covid-19

The specialists pointed out that these sectors will continue without recovery due to the decision of a growing number of regions to cut inter-provincial travel, limit the entry of visitors and limit the capacities of leisure facilities such as cinemas, museums, nightclubs and internet cafes .

They also cited hotels and aviation as other major concerns, as reservations don’t attract many users despite the price cut by half.

All of these industries had negative balances during the Qingming Festival holiday in March as it coincided with the spread of the current Covid-19 outbreak.

The wave, believed to be the worst in two years, swept across most of China, was caused by the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and has left more than 500,000 infections and 11 deaths so far.

Shanghai — the country’s financial hub — is the new epicenter of the disease and remains in quarantine, although it began to gradually reactivate its key economic sectors under strict epidemiological prevention and control measures.

This Tuesday, the metropolis reported another seven deaths and 20,416 patients, mostly asymptomatic.

The health situation in the country has prompted demarcations like Beijing to issue notices to their residents to remain in the city during the May Day holiday, avoid gatherings and crowded places, maintain social distancing and wear masks in public.

The Chinese government is urging strict adherence to the zero-tolerance policy for Covid-19, and even health officials have warned against claims in favor of “living with the virus” or considering infection with the Omicron a stronger flu.

The Asian nation has recorded at least 14,661 deaths and 534,257 confirmed cases in its mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan since the disease and the coronavirus that caused it emerged in December 2019.

In addition, it currently has 276,499 asymptomatic patients under medical observation and an increase in deaths is not excluded because there are patients in Shanghai with very serious illnesses, all of whom have chronic diseases such as diabetes or heart disease, are unvaccinated and require artificial ventilation.

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