On top of a lockdown of its 25 million residents, Shanghai is building the world’s largest makeshift isolation facility at the National Exhibition and Convention Center as China tries to maintain its Covid Zero policy. The 1.2 million square-meter space known for hosting international auto shows and other massive events will be converted to house more than 40,000 people. The effort shows how far the financial hub will go to fight the virus. "We expect the construction of the whole hospital will be completed within 3 days," said Xu Ning from the China Construction Second Engineering Bureau. The Chinese Communist Party’s flagship newspaper defended President Xi Jinping’s stringent virus strategy, saying the Covid Zero policy is essential to saving lives and keeping the economy going, as doubts grow with more than 21,000 new cases recorded in Shanghai. In a front-page commentary, the People’s Daily said that the more transmissible omicron variant “has made it more difficult to find the virus and prevent the epidemic.” It then went on to say that “the more this is the case, the more we should adhere to the general policy of ‘dynamic zero’ without hesitation or wavering,” using Beijing’s wording for the country’s virus approach. The commentary comes as China faces its worst Covid-19 crisis since the start of the pandemic, when the pathogen first emerged in Wuhan. New infections are exceeding the caseloads seen back then, with Shanghai -- the country’s most global and one of its most populous cities -- now a key epicenter. The financial and economic hub has been locked down for more than a week, as officials roll out repeated rounds of mass testing, deploying a Covid-Zero playbook that’s proving less effective against new variants. Shanghai reported 21,222 new Covid infections for Thursday, up from just over 9,000 cases on Sunday in a concerning surge. The ongoing restrictions have led to food and medicine shortages, with some apartment blocks in hard lockdowns for weeks. It’s fueling growing discontent among residents over Covid Zero, which is leaving China isolated as the rest of the world opens up and lives alongside the virus. Last month, Xi reaffirmed China’s adherence to the strategy, but said it needed to be adjusted so that curbs aren’t damaging business and the economy. While it’s getting increasingly hard to suppress omicron’s spread, Covid Zero “can not only reduce the harm of the epidemic to people’s health and life safety, but also balance the relationship between social and economic development and epidemic prevention and control to the greatest extent,” the People’s Daily said. The policy is designed to “achieve the maximum prevention and control effect at the least cost,” the newspaper said, adding that Covid Zero is the best choice for China given medical resources in some parts of the country are poor, the vaccination rate is unbalanced and given the large elderly population. China watchers expect Beijing to stick with Covid Zero through this year, as there is little appetite for the instability that would likely be unleashed if the virus were allowed to spread freely. The nation is vaccinated with less effective domestic shots and the rate for those over 80 is lower than in many other countries, at about 51%, officials said March 18. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Subscribe to our newest channel Quicktake Explained: https://bit.ly/3iERrup Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake