-
China imposes massive lockdown on millions of Shanghai residents
The We For News reported that about 26 million residents of China’s economic capital of Shanghai will be confined to their homes as Beijing imposes a massive citywide lockdown starting on Monday in a bid to maintain a ‘zero-Covid’ policy.
It said that the lockdown will be conducted in two phases. First, Shanghai’s Pudong financial district and nearby areas will be quarantined from Monday to Friday. Second, Pudong will pass the baton to the vast downtown area west of the Huangpu River, which will start its own five-day lockdown on Friday.
To control the growing outbreak, China’s Xinhua reported, the lockdown will be accompanied by a new round of mass nucleic acid testing across the city, citing Shanghai officials. Beijing recorded 3,500 cases of the infection on Sunday.
As all residents are required to stay at home and avoid any contact with the outside world, all public transport in the locked-down areas will be suspended.
According to the We For News, groceries will be delivered and left at checkpoints. All non-essential businesses in Shanghai will close their offices, making employees work from home.
China reports its first COVID-19 deaths in more than a year on Saturday
It said that the decision comes as Beijing continues to abide by its zero-tolerance policy towards Covid-19. In line with the policy, China’s authorities are free to use public health measures such as mass testing, contact tracing, and lockdowns in order to stop community transmission of the virus as soon as it is detected.
The goal is to get the area of an outbreak back to zero new infections and resume normal economic and social activities as soon as possible. The policy has been criticized by many, however, who argue that it takes too much of an economic toll.
Nearly 30 million people under lockdown across China as Covid-19 surges
Last week, China recorded its largest spike in new Covid infections since the beginning of the pandemic, which led to Beijing’s decision to put over four million residents of the northeastern city of Jilin under a massive lockdown to curb the spread. The newly announced Shanghai lockdown is the most extensive in the past two years.
Source: wefornews
You May Also Like
Popular Posts
Caricature
NATO Secretary-General Ex...
- November 7, 2024
Amid growing anxiety among several European countries participating in NATO over Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stated he looks forward to sitting down with Trump.
Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.
Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.
On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.
It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.
Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.
Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
opinion
Report
ads
Newsletter
Subscribe to our mailing list to get the new updates!