Coronavirus: COVID-19 cases have been reported in China amid rising Omicrons.
Shanghai:
Shanghai is tightening its already strict COVID-19 lockdown in a new effort to eliminate infections outside the quarantine zones of China’s largest city later this month, people familiar with the matter said. belonging to this matter said.
Curb curbs are likely to change across the city’s 16 boroughs as some have hit their targets, but residents said movement restrictions will generally remain in place until the end of May due to concerns about the recovery. recovery, although the number of cases of the worst coronavirus outbreak has recently dropped.
Accounts from residents in some counties as well as social media posts show that the city government of 25 million people is accelerating and expanding its efforts to transfer close contacts of positive cases to other districts. central quarantine center.
Many residents said they were asked to move to such facilities, despite testing negative, after cases were found in their building, causing frustration.
Other residents said they had been told on Saturday by their housing estates that they would not be able to leave their main door or property or receive deliveries for a week as part of the effort. achieve the goal of “zero cases at the community level”.
Shanghai authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shanghai reports thousands of cases a day, mostly in locked-down areas such as central quarantine facilities, “closed-loop” managed facilities and homes where residents are barred from leaving the front doors.
Ending community-based transmission outside such areas is a difficult turning point in cities like Shenzhen, which last month reopened public transport and allowed people to people return to work.
But Shanghai has struggled to end community transmission in the face of the potentially infectious variant of Omicron. Reuters reported last month, authorities initially set a target of reaching the target by April 20, but only in two counties.
‘NO WHY’
On Saturday, authorities in Putuo and Changning districts issued notices saying residents of housing complexes classified as the city’s lowest-risk “precautionary” zones could not leave. their home again.
A resident in the Pudong New Area district, where Shanghai’s financial hub is located, told Reuters he had received a similar notice from his compound.
In the Xuhui district, which includes the former French Concession, residents from nine housing complexes told Reuters they were informed by the neighborhood committee on Saturday that they would be barred from leaving the main door or receiving goods during the day. at least a week.
“This is to achieve ‘community-level zero cases’ as soon as possible and allow the lockdown to be lifted,” a notice on Xuhui was quoted as saying by Reuters. It said the curbs would be in place until May 15.
A neighborhood committee said on their official WeChat account that for the safety of the community, they must move all occupants in a building and disinfect the area after a resident has positive test results.
A video shared thousands of times on social media shows police in line with hazmat arguing with residents who were told they had to move to quarantine after a neighbor got the results. positive.
“This is so we can thoroughly eliminate any positive cases,” an official said. “Don’t ask me why, there’s no reason why. We have to follow national guidelines and disease control policies.”
Reuters could not independently verify the video.
Shanghai has achieved citywide COVID-free outside of quarantined areas only twice, on April 30 and May 1. Daily cases have since been in double digits. City officials said counties with no cases outside of quarantine for three consecutive days are considered to have met their target.
On Saturday, Shanghai reported 11 cases outside of quarantine across five counties.
Officials have not provided clarity on how they will eventually lift the lockdown, warning the public against complacency.
