38,000 health workers dispatched to Shanghai as COVID outbreak worsens

Enlarge / Train attendants holding signs welcome a medical team from Tianjin at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station on April 3, 2022 in Tianjin, China. A team of medical workers from Tianjin arrived in Shanghai on Sunday to support the city's fight against COVID-19 epidemic.

Health officials in China have dispatched more than 38,000 health workers to Shanghai as the city of roughly 26 million remains in an extended lockdown from a roaring outbreak of the ultratransmissible omicron coronavirus variant.

The megacity, which functions as China's financial hub, entered a two-stage lockdown on March 28 that was initially intended to end April 5. But with nearly the entire city still confined to their homes or quarantine centers, officials say the lockdown will go on.

"The city will continue to implement seal and control management and strictly implement 'staying at home', except for medical treatment," Shanghai's government said on its official WeChat account, according to Reuters. There was no indication when the lockdown would lift.

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