Shanghai in lockdown as officials work to test all 26M residents

Enlarge / A closed viaduct and tunnel leading to Pudong is seen in Shanghai, China, March 28, 2022. (credit: Getty | Future Publishing)

Coronavirus cases in China are spiking to record highs, leading officials in the Chinese financial hub of Shanghai to make the snap decision late Sunday to lock down the city of around 26 million people. For weeks, officials denied that they would institute lockdowns in response to rising cases.

But this month, the spread of the ultratransmissible omicron variant has driven China's highest case rise in the pandemic, and Shanghai has seen some of the highest numbers. On Sunday, the country reported more than 6,000 new cases, with 3,500 of those in Shanghai. According to data tracking by The New York Times, the number of daily new cases has increased 233 percent in the past 14 days. The current case count is the highest yet for the country, which saw its previous peak in February 2020 when new cases reached just above 3,000 a day.

Starting March 28, Shanghai residents on the east side of Huangpu River entered a four-day home lockdown and mass testing campaign. From April 1 to 5, people on the west side will take their turn locking down and testing. Officials are aiming to test the entire population during the sequential lockdowns, sending health workers in white hazmat suits to residents' front doors.

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