486 New COVID Cases in Shanghai, Up 67%

By Ned Kelly, December 4, 2022

Shanghai Health Commission reported a total of 36 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 450 local asymptomatic cases this morning, Sunday, December 4.

Of the 486 new cases reported, 472 tested positive in central quarantine, while 14 tested positive during regular screening.

That is 195 more cases than yesterday's 291 – an increase of 67%.

And another 14 community cases...

New Shanghai community cases by district...

The 11 local cases that tested positive outside central quarantine were in the following areas:

3 in Songjiang
2 in Baoshan
2 in Qingpu
1 in Changning
1 in Huangpu
1 in Minhang
1 in Pudong

The 3 local asymptomatic cases that tested positive outside central quarantine were in the following areas:

1 in Jing'an
1 in Pudong
1 in Qingpu

Where had they been?

Bit of an information overload once the community cases hit double figures, so you can view this as something of a 'highlights reel,' if you will.

The big one being flagged is a visit to Hongqiao Airport Metro station, for obvious reasons – that's got red code tsunami written all over it.

There was also a visit to an agricultural wholesale market. Once again: Ping! Ping! Ping!

Shout out to the case of impeccable taste that had been to Pie Society and Up Shanghai... or 'Up Shanghai American hip hop bar,' as it is described in the government release.

Aside from that, the new community cases' traces include multiple restaurants, pubs, bakeries, supermarkets, companies, wet markets, pharmacies and convenience stores across the city...

... every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area. Your fugitive's name is Dr. Richard Kimble. Go get him.

Easing of restrictions...

As no doubt you're well aware, restrictions seem to be slowly being eased in various cities across the country. So what's new today?

Residents in Beijing will no longer need to register their personal information for purchasing medicines for a fever, cough, sore throat or anti-infection both online or in drugstores. The fear before being that they would use them to disguise their COVID symptoms.
Residents in Chongqing have been told not to take a PCR test unless absolutely necessary. Some hospitals in the municipality have also stopped asking for proof of a negative test for entry. Straight out of the Guangzhou playbook, this one – not testing people a great way to control those case numbers.
In Shaoxing, a city in neighboring Zhejiang Province, people with a yellow code are now being allowed to stay in hotels and take public transport, provided they have proof of a negative test within 48 hours and can show they have taken another test that day.

So what's going on?

Various jurisdictions are playing around with the various easing of various restrictions, while, the whole tone around the 'severity' of the COVID situation has shifted to far softer terms.

Such as state mouthpiece Global Times earlier in the week, who 'exclusively' revealed that Chinese scientists had proved Omicron’s pathogenicity has decreased.

They went on to say:

"This reminds us not to panic about Omicron, and for ordinary people, the damage caused by coronavirus has markedly diminished compared to the original strain."

As the great Bob Dylan once sung, for the Global Times they are a-changin'.

Meanwhile, here in Shanghai we await announcements with baited breath...

China COVID hot spots...

Below is a list of places that reported 1,000 or more COVID-19 cases Friday – locally transmitted and asymptomatic combined – that you would be best advised to avoid like the... like the pathogenicity decreased Omicron strain: