Shanghai has entered a city-wide lockdown in response to growing cases of COVID-19, becoming the largest city in China to be locked down since the beginning of the pandemic. The city, with a population of over 26 million, has seen the lockdown commence in a two-stage process.
Starting last Monday, the eastern side of the city has been shut down, with an expected easing of the restrictions to begin on April 1. At the same time on that day, the western side of the city will enter a lockdown with that one planned to end on April 5.
These actions come as part of China’s zero COVID-19 policy. When a case is detected in less densely populated areas, China purses a mass testing program of all residents. In cases where the population is much more densely populated, such as Shanghai, lockdowns are imposed until cases die out.
The policy of attaining zero COVID cases has been under strain since the Delta variant entered China and has experienced continued pressure as the country tackles the Omicron variant, which was first detected in South Africa in late November before spreading quickly across the world.
The city has also been building huge quarantine facilities with the idea being that infected residents will be moved to these facilities once their case has been detected.
Until recently, mild and asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 were treated within hospitals in order to keep the virus out of general circulation. Now however, China’s National Health Commission has accepted it is reasonable for mild cases to isolate outside of the hospital setting.
The restrictions are due to end on April 5 however this is not confirmed, and a full city lockdown is still a potential option.
