China begins biggest lockdown since 2020 in the financial hub of Shanghai
Millions of citizens of Shanghai will be confined to their homes for the next four days starting Monday as China’s financial hub Shanghai goes into lockdown to curb an ongoing outbreak of COVID-19.
The authorities had announced the city would be locked down in two phases to test around 25 million people who live in Shanghai. Residents will be confined to their neighborhoods and all public transport and private cars are barred from traveling between Pudong and Puxi during the next four days. However, deliveries and other essential transport will continue.
Over the weekend, residents flocked to supermarkets in a rush of panic buying that saw shelves emptied.
On Monday, streets in the biggest and wealthiest city of Shanghai were deserted as all of its 25 million residents were told to line up for COVID tests.
Shanghai reported a record 3,500 infections a day before the lockdown was enforced. The restrictions have been described as China’s biggest lockdown since 2020 when the virus first broke out in Wuhan.
Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory will also temporarily halt production after a surge in COVID-19 cases in the city prompting new lockdowns in the city, according to media reports.
