Shanghai fears new lockdown as millions test for Covid amid sweltering heat
Shanghai authorities have ordered the majority of the city’s 16 districts to undergo two rounds of testing from Tuesday to Thursday, after a case of the new BA.5.2.1 subvariant was detected in the community on July 8.The highly transmissible BA.5 variant is spreading rapidly worldwide and is seen as a great threat by authorities in The notices, after being widely circulated online, caused panic among residents, many of whom are scarred by their prolonged isolation in April and May — which led to widespread food shortages and blocked access to medical care.In response to the uproar, a neighborhood committee worker told the state-run Health Times the proposal was meant to prepare residents for the growing outbreak, as close contacts — as well as secondary contacts — of an infected case can also lead to neighborhood lockdowns. “Fine, let’s spend our whole life living in the fear of food scarcity and the shadow of hoarding daily necessities,” said a comment on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform.”It’s been over three years, when will it be over? How many three years do people have in their lives? Enough is enough!” said another.
