The Chinese financial metropolis of Shanghai remains in lockdown for the time being after unprecedented corona mass tests of its 26 million inhabitants. “The city will continue to implement the lockdown and control management and strictly apply the ‘stay at home’ principle,” the city government said on Wechat. Exceptions only apply to medical treatments. The results of the tests would now be evaluated, as the health authorities announced.
Soldiers and medical professionals are helping to thoroughly test the country’s largest city after a record spike in coronavirus infections. The People’s Liberation Army dispatched more than 2,000 medical workers from the army, navy and logistics, an armed forces newspaper reported. 38,000 health workers from provinces such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and the capital Beijing have also been seconded to Shanghai. State media showed pictures of them arriving by bullet train or plane with suitcases and wearing masks.
Some residents were up before dawn so healthcare workers in their white hazmat suits could collect throat swabs. Many stood in line in their pajamas and kept the recommended safety distance of two meters. It is the largest operation by the Chinese health authorities since the first Covid outbreak in Wuhan, where the corona virus was first discovered at the end of 2019. A two-stage lockdown began in Shanghai on March 28. Nevertheless, around 9,000 corona cases were reported for Sunday because the highly contagious omicron variant is spreading rapidly. People who refuse to be tested without good reason may be subject to criminal prosecution.