BEIJING (AP) — Authorities in Shanghai have tightened coronavirus restrictions just as the city began to emerge from a month of severe lockdowns due to an outbreak of COVID-19.
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Notices issued in several districts indicate residents have been ordered to stay home and banned from receiving non-essential orders as part of a “quiet period” that will last until at least Wednesday. The intensification of measures will be extended according to the results of massive tests, informed the authorities.
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“Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Together we can lift the quarantine at an early date,” said one of the notices issued in the city’s Huangpu district that was posted online.
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It was unclear what caused the renewed escalation as the number of new COVID-19 cases in the city continues to decline.
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On Monday, Shanghai reported 3,947 cases in the previous 24-hour period, most of which were asymptomatic, and 11 deaths. Authorities have gradually lifted lockdown rules in the city of 25 million people, but the new orders seem to go back to the early stages of the outbreak.
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Shanghai initially ordered mass testing with limited lockdowns, but extended it as the number of cases rose. Thousands of residents have been forced into centralized quarantine centers for testing positive or simply coming into contact with an infected person.
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Two Shanghai residents contacted on social media said they had no prior notice of the new restrictions, which they were told could last up to a week.
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“We are not prepared,” said Zhang Chen, a researcher at a technology company. “I packed my luggage thinking that I would” be taken to a quarantine facility.
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“I don’t know what will happen in May, but after the quarantine I think I will need psychological help,” Zhang said.
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A marketing professional in the western district of Pudong said that the quality of life has worsened and the cost of living has been rising during the lockdown.
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“They always say that a quarantine will be lifted after a few days, but it seems to have no end,” said the woman, who asked to be identified only by her last name, Lu, to avoid repercussions from authorities who have cracked down on dissent. .
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“All labor aspects are affected. I don’t know when the quarantine will end,” Lu said.
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