Thread by @WilliamYang120

China's Shanghai announced that they will impose a two-stage lockdown starting tomorrow and carry out a city-wide PCR testing, as the number of asymptomatic #COVID19 cases in the city continues to rise. nationalpost.com/pmn/health-pmn…

Districts to the east of the river, and some to its west, will be locked down and tested between March 28 and April 1. The remaining areas will be locked down and tested between April 1 and 5.

Public transport, including ride-hailing services, in these areas will be suspended when they are locked down, the city government said on its official WeChat account, adding that unapproved vehicles will not be allowed on the roads.

It also said that all firms and factories will suspend manufacturing or work remotely during the lockdown, apart from those involved in offering public services or supplying food.

“The public is asked to support, understand and cooperate with the city’s epidemic prevention and control work, and participate in nucleic acid testing in an orderly manner,” the government added.

Shanghai has battled a new COVID-19 surge for nearly a month and for Saturday it reported its highest daily number of cases since the initial outbreak in China receded.

The city recorded 2,631 new asymptomatic cases, which accounted for nearly 60% of China’s total new asymptomatic cases that day, plus 47 new cases with symptoms.

Over 14 million Shanghai residents have taken antigen tests, the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission said on Sunday.

But some residents have grumbled about seemingly endless cycles of testing and the piecemeal approach to ending transmission chains, with some saying the cost of zero-COVID had become too high.

Frustrations have also been felt elsewhere in China.

Earlier this month, footage on social media showed a crowd of people in the northeastern city of Shenyang banged against the windows of a clothing market as they shouted in frustration at yet another round of COVID-19 tests.