Shanghai achieves milestone in virus fight

SHANGHAI • Shanghai said yesterday that it had detected no new daily Covid-19 cases outside quarantine areas, marking a milestone in its battle to contain the coronavirus, which has paralysed the city of 25 million people.

Shanghai officials did not discuss the break in Covid-19 transmission at their daily news conference, but social media cheered the news.

"Shanghai has finally reached zero at the community level!!! May Shanghai wake up as soon as possible!!" said one post on the Weibo platform.

Friday's zero cases came after 108 on Thursday. Some, however, played down the milestone, noting that most of the city's residents were locked in some form of quarantine.

Scenes of houses and buildings ringed with fences to prevent residents from leaving have grabbed headlines at a time when most other countries in the world are learning to live with Covid-19.

China maintains a zero-Covid-19 policy aimed at eradicating the disease. This has led to frustration, especially in Shanghai, China's commercial capital.

Many people have been cooped up for more than a month, and some, struggling to find food and other necessities, have shown rare public opposition to the government's stringent controls.

Yesterday, the health authorities said there were close to 16,000 sealed-off areas in Shanghai, with more than four million people prevented from leaving their homes. A further 5.4 million people were blocked from leaving their compounds.

In practice, many of the remaining residents in low-risk prevention areas are still not allowed to leave their compounds.

"The city's epidemic and prevention control is currently still at a critical state, and the trend is that people still need to strengthen controls," said Mr Zhao Dandan, deputy director of Shanghai's health commission.

REUTERS