China's Covid lockdown situation is deteriorating, according to Nomura, which said nearly 300 million people are now affected by restrictions imposed in 49 cities.

An earthquake of 6.8 magnitude that rocked Sichuan on Monday killed at least 21 people and shook the provincial capital of Chengdu, where 21m people are locked down amid a Covid outbreak.

China’s economy slowed sharply in the second quarter due to widespread lockdowns. Now, a nascent third-quarter recovery in the world's second-largest economy appears in danger of stalling.

A stuttering third-quarter recovery in the world's No2 economy appears in danger of stalling after new Covid flare-ups and restrictions

Asia's factory activity slid last month as China's strict zero-Covid approach and cost pressures hit businesses hard

The world's second-biggest economy is set to slow again in the third quarter as Covid lockdowns across the country hit production

Officials in Chengdu, in the southwest, and Shenzhen, the tech hub in the southeast, have ramped up efforts to contain Covid as cases continued to rise on Thursday.

Officials in the southern city have clamped down to smother a potential outbreak after five local infections were reported on Tuesday. Some 41 cities now have restrictions imposed.

Covid restrictions and the worst heatwaves in decades weighed on China's factory activity, which continued to fall in August, according to data released by the statistics bureau on Wednesday.

Analysts say ramping up curbs in major trade centres like Shenzhen, Dalian and Chengdu in the southwest could have far more serious impacts than lockdowns in smaller cities.

Huaqiangbei market in Shenzhen, which houses thousands of shops selling key components like microchips and telephone parts to manufacturers, will be shuttered until Sept 2

The gross payout was the most since data began in 2013 and a 257% increase from a year earlier, according Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security data.