US State Department requires non-essential staff to leave Shanghai

Anti-epidemic staff guard next to barricades placed around a blockade area in Shanghai, China on April 11 – Photo: REUTERS

According to Reuters news agency, on April 11, the US State Department ordered all US government employees holding non-essential positions at the US consulate in Shanghai to leave the city. This is due to the spike in COVID-19 cases and China’s strict disease control measures.

“Reconsider travel plans to the People’s Republic of China due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws and restrictive measures related to COVID-19,” the US State Department’s announcement on April 11 stated.

Earlier, on April 8, the US State Department announced that non-essential employees at the consulate in Shanghai could leave voluntarily.

According to Reuters, the most controversial of Shanghai’s anti-epidemic measures is separating children who have tested positive for COVID-19 from their parents.

In the announcement on April 11, the US State Department also raised the risk of parents and children being separated.

According to AFP news agency, a spokesman for the US embassy in China said US diplomats had raised “concerns about the safety and welfare of US citizens with PRC officials”.

Shanghai is experiencing the worst COVID-19 outbreak in China since the world’s first official COVID-19 cases were recorded in Wuhan City in late 2019.

According to the newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP), on April 12, Shanghai reported that it had recorded 22,342 new infections in 24 hours on April 11, lower than the number of 26,087 new infections recorded on April 10.

To date, China has still pursued a “Zero COVID” strategy, which aims to wipe out infections in the community through blockade measures, widespread testing and travel restrictions.