Chinese authorities in the city of Guangzhou have launched mandatory mass testing in nine districts as COVID-19 cases saw dramatic jump in the past few weeks.
Infections nationwide climbed to 7,475 on 7 November according to China’s health authority, up from 5,496 the day before and the highest peak since 1 May.
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The city Guangzhou reported 2,377 new local cases for 7 November, up from 1,971 the previous day and a double-digit increase in the last two weeks ago.
A full Shanghai-style lockdown has not been imposed yet, although many districts in Guangzhou have imposed different levels of curbs and lockdowns.
The Port of Guangzhou has transported 18.1 million TEU in January – September for the year so far.
Shanghai went into a lockdown in April and May after reporting several thousand new infections daily in the last week of March.
Despite the challenges, the city maintained its status as China’s top performing container port despite a drop in box throughput for the month of August.
READ: Shanghai’s new round of COVID-19 testing reignites lockdown fears
The latest shift in cases may severely impact Guangzhou’s manufacturing hub, as Chinese ports have already seen an overall dip in import and export ocean shipment volume over recent weeks following the imposition of COVID-19 lockdowns.
Ningbo-Zhoushan has taken the largest hit, with volume down 29 per cent compared to the start of October.
