Topline
The U.S. State Department ordered non-emergency consulate staffers to leave Shanghai after previously flagging concerns about the city’s “arbitrary enforcement” of pandemic rules even as local authorities eased some restrictions for residents who have been under a lockdown for over two weeks as the city deals with China’s worst Covid-19 outbreak.
Volunteers wearing armbands and face masks stand at the gate of a residential community in Shanghai, … [+]
Key Facts
In an order issued late on Monday, the U.S. State Department said it was scaling down consular operations in the city and had instructed non-emergency U.S. government employees at the Shanghai consulate and their family members to leave the city.
Consular officers will continue to remain on duty at the consulate, the Associated Press reported.
Monday’s order is an upgrade from an advisory issued by the State Department last week which allowed non-emergency workers and their families to leave Shanghai voluntarily.
Local authorities in the Chinese financial hub began to ease some of the Covid restrictions that have been in place for more than two weeks allowing residents of “low risk” areas to step out of their homes.
According to Reuters more than 7,000 residential units in the metropolis have been classified as low-risk after reporting zero infections in the past 14 days.
However, the extent of the easing of curbs in these areas remains unclear as these zones will still be subject to some controls and its residents will be required to observe strict social distancing rules.
Tangent
Shanghai’s stringent lockdown rules prompted the State Department to issue an advisory asking U.S. citizens to reconsider travel to China, warning of arbitrary enforcement of local laws. The advisory also noted that the harsh rules included the risk of “parents and children being separated.” On Sunday, Beijing pushed back against the advisory, calling it a “groundless accusation against China’s epidemic response.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/04/12/shanghai-loosens-some-covid-curbs-but-us-orders-non-essential-consulate-staff-to-leave-city/