Chinese President Xi Jinping has insisted that the ‘zero covid’ strategy must be firmly pursued in the country, with more than half of Shanghai’s 25 million residents preparing for a testing campaign this Friday.

After nearly two and a half years of pandemic, China is the last major economy in the world to try to eradicate any disease outbreak, including severe restrictions, large-scale testing and mandatory quarantines.

Strategy has been called into question in recent months as the more contagious variant Ômicron has emerged, which has prompted strong lockdowns in Beijing and particularly Shanghai, impacting the world’s second-largest economy.

According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, President Xi called for “efficient coordination of COVID-19 prevention and control with economic and social development”, but warned that “the dynamic “covid zero” approach must be firmly maintained.

Analysts believe that, in addition to problems in supply chains, China will struggle to meet its economic growth target of 5.5 percent in 2022 as companies shut down due to lockdowns.

The World Bank significantly lowered its growth forecast for China from 5.1% to 4.3% and warned this week that a zero covid strategy could further slow the recovery.

The effects of China’s quarantine were felt around the world, particularly the closure of Shanghai, the country’s largest city and a major center of international trade.

Metropol plans to test more than half of its residents for the coronavirus starting Saturday, less than two weeks after the start of a severe solitary confinement suspension that lasted almost two months.

Last week, Shanghai lifted most restrictions after containing the most serious covid outbreak in China in two years, but authorities are maintaining a set of measures to try to avoid a new outbreak.

In this way, hundreds of thousands of people still cannot leave their homes. Residents of seven counties will be tested for the coronavirus starting Saturday, a city government official said on Thursday.

The exams affect more than 14 million people, including the population of Pudong’s financial center and various districts of the city centre.

In many areas, residents will remain confined to their homes until the PCR sample is taken.

Some areas of Beijing have reimposed restrictions after the city eased its teleworking regime and allowed indoor restaurant areas to open earlier in the week.

According to media reports, Dongcheng’s central district has decided to close bars, nightclubs and cafes after detecting outbreaks of transmission in entertainment venues on Thursday.

The level of transmission in China is much lower than in other countries. On Friday, the country reported 73 new infections, eight in Beijing and 11 in Shanghai, according to the National Health Commission.