The radical measure aims to stop the spread of the corona virus. “The outbreak in Shanghai is characterized by regional clusters and city-wide infections,” said Wu Fan, a member of the city’s Covid-19 team. “Energy measures” are needed to reduce people’s mobility, find infected people quickly and eliminate hidden transmissions.
Despite the curfews, the world’s largest port in Shanghai, as well as airports and rail and freight traffic, are expected to continue operating “as normal”, according to official information. The lockdown will take place in two stages: residents of Pudong and neighboring districts such as Fengxian, Jinshan, Chongming and parts of Minhang are expected to stay home until Friday. After that, the same measures will take effect in the oldest part of the metropolis west of the Huangpu River, where testing will continue until Monday.
Infected people are isolated in the premises. According to the city hall, six hospitals, two gyms and two large exhibition halls with beds were set up for this purpose. On Sunday, 50 local infections and 3,450 asymptomatic infections were detected in Shanghai, officials said. Nationally, 1,219 local infections and 5,134 asymptomatic cases were reported. In addition to Shanghai, Jilin province in northeast China was also severely affected.
The lockdown in Shanghai came as a surprise as the rumors had been denied the day before. Residential areas have been cordoned off, but food and other goods must continue to be delivered by courier services if they can be delivered without contact. However, there were complaints that delivery services were overloaded. Public transport, ferries and taxis stopped operating.
The lockdown in Shanghai also had an economic impact: US electric car maker Tesla suspended production in Shanghai for four days, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Both employees and suppliers were informed. Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing, on the other hand, said operations at its factories in Shanghai were normal so far.
China still follows a zero Covid strategy, which has been put to the test since the beginning of the year with the arrival of the more transmissible Omicron variant. Until then, authorities had successfully tackled smaller outbreaks with curfews, mass testing, contact tracing and quarantine. Life in China has been largely normal for nearly two years. But the country has largely isolated itself from other countries.