China ordered its largest lockdown in two years Monday after a growing outbreak of COVID-19 erupted in Shanghai, forcing 10 million people back into their homes despite decreasing cases in the rest of the world.
Shanghai’s lockdown will occur in two phases after 3,500 new cases were confirmed Sunday. In the first phase, Shanghai’s financial district and neighboring areas will be locked down from Monday to Friday. In the second phase, Shanghai’s downtown will be locked down for five days starting Friday.
The new lockdown orders were placed to help “curb the virus spread, protect people’s life and health, and achieve the dynamic zero-COVID target as soon as possible,” according to Shanghai’s COVID-19 prevention and control office.
OMICRON SURGE IN CHINA PROMPTS RENEWED LOCKDOWNS AFFECTING TENS OF MILLIONS
The lockdown requires residents to stay at home, with deliveries dropped off at specific checkpoints to eliminate unnecessary contact. Other parts of China, such as the Jilin province, are also participating in partial lockdowns and enforcing a travel ban after 56,000 cases were reported nationwide this month, most of which stemmed from Jilin.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the government was exploring next steps in the country’s fifth wave of COVID-19 outbreaks, including testing all 7.4 million residents in southern China. The fifth wave has led to the deaths of over 7,000 people, with tens of thousands of cases.
“I don’t have a timetable yet. It’s not easy to predetermine a timetable, in the same way that I don’t know how quickly the cases will come down,” Lam said at a press conference, according to the Associated Press.
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China’s increase in COVID-19 cases contrasts with the rest of the world, where COVID-19 cases have trended downward. In the United States, all states have lifted their indoor mask mandates and travel restrictions, with Hawaii lifting its restrictions Saturday.
