Citizens line up at a hospital in the city to undergo a nucleic acid test on the 27th amid the Corona 19 lockdown in Shanghai, which is called China’s ‘economic capital’. The city of Shanghai announced on the same day that the city will be divided into east and west and phased out, and nucleic acid tests will be conducted on up to 20 million citizens. yunhap news
Shanghai, often referred to as China’s economic capital, has entered into a total lockdown to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19).
On the night of the 27th, the Shanghai Municipal Government announced through its WeChat official account that it had decided to divide the city into east (Pudong) and west (Pusi) based on the Huangpu River, which runs through the city, and to blockade them sequentially and then conduct a total inspection of residents.
The Pudong area will be closed for 4 days from the morning of the 28th, and the Pudong area will be closed for 4 days from the 1st of the next month.
During the lockdown period, public transport as well as private vehicles are prohibited in the area. Apartments are also blocked, and residents are only allowed to deliver essential necessities. All public corporations and companies, except those that provide services essential to civic life, will also be fully telecommuting.
In a statement, Shanghai City warned that “the decision was made to contain the spread of COVID-19 and promote public safety.”
Due to the sudden announcement by the authorities, on the night of the 27th, residents of Pudong, Shanghai, flocked to the mart to buy ingredients.
Two men fighting at a mart in Pudong, Shanghai the day before the phased lockdown (left)/ An empty sales counter at the mart (right). Twitter
In the Twitter video, an empty shelf was seen. In addition, residents were also caught arguing fiercely with items or waving fists at each other to buy fresh food, such as vegetables, which have recently skyrocketed in price.
The decision to block the city is also expected to inevitably take an economic blow to global companies with manufacturing plants in Shanghai, the center of China’s economy.
Tesla’s ‘Device Factory’, a manufacturing plant in Shanghai, has already decided to stop production on the 28th, and it is reported that the company is considering how long this policy will continue.
Tesla’s Shanghai plant is a large-scale line that accounts for about 50% of last year’s electric vehicle production.
In addition, manufacturing plants such as Zhongxin Guoji (SMIC) and General Motors (GM), the largest semiconductor consignment manufacturers in China, are also in operation in Shanghai. These companies have not confirmed or announced whether or not to suspend operations. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that supply chain problems, including the semiconductor crisis, will intensify if quarantine measures are strengthened, such as a prolonged period of city closure.
Meanwhile, the measure came as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Shanghai recently surged. On the day of the Shanghai lockdown announcement, the number of confirmed cases recorded 3,500, and considering that the number of confirmed cases across China in one day was 6,215, more than half were in Shanghai.
