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A new virus is fast infecting the world, creating one of the biggest global health crises since Ebola and SARS.
Editor: Lin Jinbing. Producer: Yu Zhuyangyang
Cover Story: Shanghai Fights a New Covid Enemy With Old Weapons
China’s playbook of lockdowns, mass testing and quarantines can’t keep up with BA.2 variant as city experiences shortages of food and medical care

Shanghai Composite Index Rose 1.6% on Friday
Shenzhen Component Index closed up 1.82%

Weekly Must-Read: China’s Record-Breaking Unemployment Rates Amid Covid Lockdowns
Surveyed urban unemployment rate came in at 6.1% in April, while the figure for 16- to 24-year-olds hit the highest ever recorded

North Korea Reports Nearly 2 Million ‘Fever Cases’ in One Week
Deaths reach 63 as 7.7% of the population is sickened in a reclusive nation that rejected Covid vaccines as World Health Organization voices concern

Shanghai Composite Index Rose 0.36% on Thursday
Shenzhen Component Index closed up 0.37%

Shanghai Speeds Up Customs Clearance of Covid Vaccines and Materials
China’s biomedical R&D center creates ‘green channel’ to accelerate work on advanced coronavirus treatments and inoculations

China Housing Prices Fall for Eighth Month Amid Lockdowns
The average price of new homes in 70 cities was down 0.3% in April, the fastest decline in five months

China’s Vice Premier Vows Support for Digital Platforms
Liu He sends positive signal after a year-long clampdown on Chinese tech giants and says government will allow domestic and foreign share sales

North Korea Reports ‘Fever Cases’ in Almost 5% of Population
Without calling cases ‘Covid,’ isolated country says there were 392,920 new infections and eight deaths in 24 hours ended Sunday

China Stocks Rise as Easing Covid Outbreak Lifts Sentiment
Equities in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong gained as investors bought the dip in the country’s battered stock markets

China Risks 1.6 Million Deaths in Virus ‘Tsunami’ If Covid Zero Is Abandoned, Study Says
Peer-reviewed research finds the level of immunity induced by March vaccination campaign would be ‘insufficient’ to prevent an omicron wave that would swamp intensive care capacity

China Stimulus Fails to Ignite Housing Sales Over Key Holiday
New-home sales in 23 major cities fell 33% by area over the Labor Day break

China’s Export Growth Sinks to Early Pandemic Low as Lockdowns Bite
The increase of exports in April in dollar terms slowed to 3.9% from a year earlier, compared with March growth of nearly 15%

Will Regular Covid Testing Help or Hurt China’s Economy?
Economists disagree on cost of mandatory free testing as Nomura predicts 1.8% of GDP and a drag on growth while Goldman puts it at 0.2% and calls it stimulative

China’s Insurers Suffer Rocky First Quarter Amid Covid Fallout, Volatile Markets
Technical changes to the way profits are booked and a shift in the sales model are also hitting earnings

VW Sees Better Chip Supplies in Second Half Boosting Output
German auto giant plans to steer more investment to U.S. and electric vehicles amid war in Europe and Covid lockdowns in China