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Covid in China: Shanghai to lock down in two stages from Monday as cases spiral
The Shanghai government on Sunday announced they would divide the city into two for testing its millions, using the Huangpu river that passes through the city as a guide.
China’s financial hub Shanghai will lock down each half of the mega city in turns from Monday to conduct mass tests for Covid-19 as authorities scramble to control the worst outbreak of the disease.
The city of around 26 million has seen a record number of asymptomatic cases in recent weeks.
The Shanghai government on Sunday announced they would divide the city into two for testing its millions, using the Huangpu river that passes through the city as a guide.
Districts to the east of the river, and some to its west, will be locked down and tested between March 28 and April 1.
The remaining areas will be locked down and tested between April 1 and 5, the city government announced on social media on Sunday.
Until Saturday, city authorities had rejected calls for a swift lockdown to contain the spreading Covid-19 outbreak citing the possible impact on the national and global economy.
The lockdown means that all firms and factories will suspend manufacturing or work remotely during the lockdown, apart from those involved in offering public services or supplying food.
Public transport, including ride-hailing services, in locked down areas will be suspended and unapproved vehicles will not be allowed on the roads.
“The public is asked to support, understand and cooperate with the city’s epidemic prevention and control work, and participate in nucleic acid testing in an orderly manner,” the government added.
More than 14 million residents in China’s economic hub Shanghai have taken antigen testing to screen Covid-19 infections, official news agency Xinhua reported, quoting the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission.
“Medical staff immediately conducted nucleic acid tests on those who tested positive via the antigen screening,” Wu Qianyu, an official with the commission, said, adding that control measures were adopted before the results of nucleic acid tests came out.
Shanghai on Saturday launched a new round of citywide screening using both nucleic acid and antigen testing to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.
On Saturday, Shanghai registered 45 new local confirmed cases and 2,631 local asymptomatic carriers of the coronavirus, the Xinhua report said.
Local authorities are imposing closed management over the key areas where people are banned from going out before the results of their nucleic acid testing.
As many as seven venues, including hospitals and stadiums, have been prepared to quarantine mild cases and asymptomatic carriers, according to Wu.
The number of cases is small compared globally but the ongoing outbreak is testing China’s “dynamic Covid” policy and pushing the government to look for new strategies to contain it.
