Shanghai partially blocked

Shanghai, China’s largest city with 25 million people, will close the eastern half for five days starting March 28 to conduct testing for residents in this area. After that, a similar blockade order will be implemented in the western region from April 1 to April 5.

Residents are asked to stay at home, except for those working in critical services such as fuel, electricity, transport, sanitation and food delivery. Buses, taxis and the subway system will be shut down. However, the announcement did not mention the impact of the blockade order on port, air and rail operations to and from Shanghai.

Shanghai has so far avoided a complete blockade. Authorities say they must keep the port and financial hub operating for the benefit of the national and global economy. They implemented a 48-hour blockade of residential areas combined with large-scale testing.

However, because these measures have not been able to help Shanghai contain the virus, the city government announced a partial blockade measure was implemented to “limit the spread of the disease, ensure the safety and health of people”. population”, while eliminating infections “as soon as possible”.

China persistently pursues the “No Covid” policy and tens of millions of Chinese people are living under blockade orders. The number of new Covid-19 cases in China is not significant compared to the global one, but is the highest recorded in more than two years in the country. China’s National Health Commission on March 27 reported more than 4,500 new infections, down more than 1,000 cases compared to yesterday.

Shanghai has been facing a new outbreak for almost a month, and on March 26, it recorded 2,631 new asymptomatic cases, accounting for nearly 60% of China’s total asymptomatic cases that day, along with 47 symptomatic cases.

Vu Hoang (According to AFP)