Chinese metropolis Chengdu extends Covid lockdown, again, with no end in sight

China's mega city of Chengdu has extended its Covid lockdown for a second time, with no end in sight as authorities struggle to eradicate an outbreak that is continuing despite stringent restrictions that have upended businesses and daily life.

Home to 21 million people and the capital of southwestern Sichuan province, Chengdu was locked down on September 1, becoming the largest Chinese metropolis to come to a standstill since Shanghai's painful two-month lockdown in the spring. The city is also a major production hub for Apple.

On Sunday, when citywide testing was due to end, Chengdu extended the lockdown for most of the city, and ordered new rounds of mass testing through Wednesday.

Late on Wednesday night, authorities announced that lockdown measures would be extended yet again in most districts, covering 16 million people. Mass testing will continue daily, and the city aims to eliminate community infections within a week.

Authorities did not reveal when the lockdown will end, saying only that the restrictions would be "dynamically adjusted based on the development of the epidemic and the need of (Covid) prevention and control."

Chengdu reported 116 infections for Wednesday, bring its total caseload to nearly 1,800 over the past month -- a substantial outbreak by the standards of China's zero-Covid strategy.

"Three days, three days and another three days, when can the lockdown end?" a Chengdu resident wrote on Weibo, China's Twitter-like platform.

Some districts have banned the online delivery of what they described as "non-daily necessities," including tea, coffee, hotpot and barbeques. Cafes, bakeries and barbeque joints were also ordered to close, according to government notices.