Coronavirus

US orders some consular staff to leave Shanghai amid virus outbreak

HONG KONG – The US State Department on Monday ordered the expulsion of non-emergency US government employees from its consulate in Singapore. Shanghaicite a coronavirus outbreak already the city was closed for weeks.

The order is a change from last week, when the department allowed non-emergency employees to leave on a voluntary basis while closed in the city of 26 million peopleThe largest in China since the virus first appeared in Wuhan in late 2019.

A spokesperson for the US Embassy said: “It is best for our employees and their families to be downsized and scale down our operations as we deal with changing circumstances. change on the ground”.

The spokesperson said the employees and their family members will be disembarking on commercial flights.

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Residents in Shanghai, China’s financial center and most populous city, have complained about difficulty in getting food and medical care under Covid restrictions ban people from leaving their residential areas and sometimes even their apartments.

US travel advisories have warned against going to Shanghai and Hong Kong territory of China because of pandemic-related measures, including the risk of infected children being sent to isolation facilities without their parents accompanying them. Last week, the Shanghai government said it would slightly loosen the policy of separation of childrencaused widespread outrage in China.

The Chinese government has defend its pandemic strategy, which it now calls “Dynamic zero-Covid,” is the best approach for the country. While acknowledging that some cases are inevitable, it aims to keep the number of cases as low as possible to prevent the health care system from being overwhelmed.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: “The Chinese government puts people and life first and follows the policy of not moving, demonstrating its sense of responsibility towards the people in China and the rest of the world. rest of the world”.

In a statement after the US allowed employees to leave voluntarily, Zhao said China’s pandemic policies were “scientific-based and effective,” adding that officials believed that Hai and other parts of China will prevail against the current outbreak.

We are very dissatisfied and firmly oppose the US side’s baseless accusations against China’s epidemic response policies, and have sent representatives solemnly to the US side, he said. ,” he said.

On Monday, Shanghai reported a record 26,000 cases of the new virus, most of which were asymptomatic. Officials said they would start loosening the lock in some areas depending on the number of cases, although it is possible to recover if the virus re-emerges.

Ed Flanagan contribute.

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