To avoid a total lockdown, which is detrimental to the economy, the municipal authorities first locked down the two halves of the city alternately to carry out a general screening.
The western part of Shanghai, Puxi, was placed on lockdown on Friday, while the eastern part, Pudong, was to lift its restrictions after four days of lockdown.
On Saturday, the city council finally announced a more or less strict maintenance of the measures in almost all of this part of Shanghai, where the emblematic skyscrapers of the business district are located.
This decision is equivalent to a de facto confinement of the largest city in China, where numerous multinationals are established and which represents around 4% of the Asian giant’s GDP, according to analysts.
In the face of the epidemic rebound, several exhibition halls in the metropolis have been transformed in recent days into improvised quarantine centers.
Some parents say they fear being confined if they test positive, and they are also worried about their children, from whom they could be separated under strict isolation measures.
“My daughter is not even four months old. If she tests positive, she will be quarantined alone,” a resident who did not want to give his full name told AFP Law.
If the parents test positive for covid and have to be isolated, the city will provide “quick help” to the unattended minors, said a municipal official, Zeng Qun, quoted by the Xinhua agency on Saturday.
Children who are left alone at home will be cared for by “temporary guardians” or will be placed in a place provided for this purpose, explained the official.
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