China’s Covid Controls Take a Heavy Toll on Highway Traffic

What’s new: Highway traffic volume in China’s Yangtze River Delta — one of the country’s wealthiest regions — has plunged after local governments shut roads as part of efforts to contain a severe wave of Covid-19.

On Monday, Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui registered a 65% year-on-year plunge in their highway traffic volume and a 21% drop in truck volume, Wu Chungeng, head of the Ministry of Transport’s road bureau, said at a Tuesday press conference.