SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 29 March 2024, Friday |

Shanghai faces unexpected round of COVID testing for most residents

This weekend, most inhabitants in China’s economic center of Shanghai will endure a surprise round of mass COVID-19 testing, only 10 days after a city-wide lockdown was lifted, upsetting locals and raising fears about the impact on business.

Authorities have ordered PCR testing for all inhabitants in 14 of Shanghai’s 16 districts over the weekend in an effort to halt a larger epidemic after detecting a few cases in the community.

To enter facilities like as shops and offices, or even to utilize subways and buses, residents must provide proof that they have been tested within the past 72 hours.

Many individuals have been dissatisfied with having to wait in line for hours to get tested at the city’s hundreds of booths.

While China’s infection rate is low by global standards, President Xi Jinping has doubled down on a zero-COVID policy that authorities say is needed to protect the elderly and the medical system, even as other countries try to live with the virus.

    Source:
  • Reuters