HONG KONG : Shanghai Orders Snap Covid Tests for 25 Million Locked-Down Residents BY WENXIN FAN | UPDATED 4月 04, 2022 02:25 午前 EDT City’s cases hit record as Beijing mobilizes thousands of medical workers from across the country Shanghai began testing all 25 million of its residents for Covid-19 Monday, aided by thousands of medical workers who arrived over the weekend from across the country, with the entire city now effectively under a lockdown that was meant to be in its final day.
Residents began lining up from early morning to receive the first of two rounds of nucleic acid tests, as public anger and frustration grew over the government’s handling of the city’s worst Covid-19 outbreak.
China’s financial capital reported a record 9,006 Covid cases Monday, out of 13,137 new domestic infections nationwide. On Saturday, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, the official charged by Chinese leader Xi Jinping with leading the fight against the virus, arrived in the city to direct efforts to stamp out the outbreak that is being driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant. “We’ll send in all our best forces," Ms.
Sun told the official Xinhua News Agency, using military terms in keeping with Beijing’s description of antivirus measures as battles in a war. “Rapidity is the essence of war." Sticking to the policy that calls for quarantine for all positive cases and close contacts, she began to mobilize more resources.