Lockdown of western half of Shanghai starts

A lockdown of the western half of Shanghai started as planned on Friday while the eastern half, that started four days ago, will be prolonged. About 16 million people will be tested during the lockdown in Puxi area, west side of the Huangpu River. Residents will be confined to their homes or housing compounds during the four-day period, with groceries or meals delivered to their complexes.

People living in a building where a positive case had been found will be required to stay home for 10 more days. Residents of other buildings in the same residential compound will be confined for three more days. People living in the surrounding neighborhood of a positive case will face less restrictive limits.

They may be allowed out to shop for necessities, but only for a limited time on certain days. China on Thursday reported over 8,500 new cases in the previous 24-hour period, of which more than 6,700 had no symptoms. The proportion of asymptomatic cases has been higher than in previous outbreaks, particularly in Shanghai. About 100 of the new cases were reported among people who had recently arrived from abroad.