The eastern part of the city of Shanghai will be confined for five days from Monday to allow screening of its population, followed by the western part for the same period from April 1.
Shanghai, which has a total population of 25 million, will institute a lockdown east of the Huangpu River, including the city’s financial center and industrial sectors, for four days starting Monday. Then, a new confinement will concern the western part of the city for a period of four more days, according to a press release issued this Sunday by the local government of Shanghai.
Chinese health authorities reported more than 4,500 new cases this Sunday, March 27, a declining figure but still well above the average for new daily infections, rarely above double digits per day for the past two years.
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Hence the emergency measures taken to limit as quickly as possible the outbreaks of infections which have been concentrated in recent days in Shanghai and in the neighboring regions of this megalopolis.
With the increase in the number of cases, the city government thus declared that the two-step confinement was implemented “to curb the spread of the epidemic, ensure people’s safety and health” and “eradicate cases of infection as soon as possible“.
The eastern half of the city, known as Pudong, which includes the main international airport and the financial district, will be on lockdown as part of an extensive Covid testing operation starting Monday morning and lasting until May 1. April.
On April 1, the western half of the city, known as Puxi, will be closed for five days, the government added.