COVID-19 outbreak in ShanghaiSHANGHAI/BEIJING - Shanghai officials said on Wednesday half the city had achieved "zero COVID" status, but uncompromising restrictions had to remain in place under a national policy which the head of the World Health Organization described as "unsustainable."
China's "zero COVID" approach has meant hundreds of millions across dozens of cities face various degrees of restrictions on movement, most dramatically in Shanghai. In Beijing, where authorities were trying to avoid Shanghai's fate, many businesses have been closed and large numbers of people were told to work from home in an effort to end an outbreak of dozens of daily cases.
China's leaders doubled down last week on their goals to eradicate outbreaks of virus, and threatened action against critics of the policy, which authorities say "puts life first." In Shanghai, residents unable to leave their homes have complained over lost income, difficulties sourcing food, and being unable to get emergency healthcare for life-threatening conditions before obtaining a negative COVID test result.
An increasing number of Shanghai residents in previously less strictly sealed areas of the city, have in recent days seen new fences erected around their housing compounds and have received notices that they would not be allowed outside anymore.Shanghai's lockdown has tested the ability of manufacturers to operate amid hard restrictions on the movement of people and materials.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
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