SHANGHAI (dpa-AFX) – Due to a major corona outbreak in Shanghai, the authorities have imposed a two-stage lockdown on the Chinese port city with a population of 26 million. A curfew will be imposed on the Pudong side east of the Huangpu River from early Monday morning until Friday, the city government announced on state television on Sunday. At the same time, mass tests were ordered. A similar curfew will then be imposed on the Puxi side, the older part of the metropolis west of the Huangpu River, from Friday until April 5.
There will then no longer be any public transport, ferries or taxis. Companies have to switch to home office or work with the staff who live on a closed factory site. The radical step followed a rapid increase in infections in Shanghai, which currently has the highest number of cases alongside the northeast Chinese province of Jilin. Around 5,500 infections were reported nationwide on Saturday, including 4,300 asymptomatic cases. Shanghai counted 47 cases and 2631 cases without symptoms. All infected must be quarantined.
So far, the authorities had wanted to avoid extensive curfews and, with a “dynamic zero-Covid strategy”, only temporarily sealed off individual residential areas for mass tests. These measures will also be continued on the Puxi side before the lockdown begins there on Friday, the authorities reported. The step that has now been announced also came as a surprise because officials had ruled out a lockdown in the metropolis on Saturday because of the far-reaching effects on the economy.
China is pursuing a zero-Covid strategy, which has been put to the test with the arrival of the more propagating Omicron variant since the beginning of the year. Until then, the authorities had successfully combated minor outbreaks with curfews, mass testing, contact tracing and quarantine. Life in China has been largely normal for almost two years, even if the country has closed itself off to other countries. Almost no visas are issued. Those entering the country must also be in quarantine for three weeks./lw/DP/he