As Cases Surge, Shanghai's Pudong District Prohibits People From Leaving Homes

The city imposed sweeping lockdowns as daily infections soared past 4,400.

China imposes lockdown in its northeast region of Jilin province as COVID cases rise.

(Photo: iStock)

Shanghai on Tuesday, 29 March, heightened its COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and issued prohibitory orders for all the residents in the eastern part of the city, barring them from leaving their homes, Bloomberg reported.

As daily infections soared past 4,400, Pudong district's residential compound reportedly issued a statement directing people to stay confined to their homes, and only step out in case they need to get a COVID-19 test.

The district houses several elite financial institutions and the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

"Residents shouldn't walk in the hallways, garages, or open areas of their residential compounds in order to reduce the risk of infection, a Shanghai Municipal Health Commission official, Wu Qianyu, said during a briefing on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported.

As per the data recorded by China's National Health Commission, COVID infections jumped to 4,477 on the first day of the lockdown – a considerable surge from Monday's daily cases of 3,500.

The stricter confinement measures come a day after the city's government announced that the eastern half of the city would be in lockdown from Monday to Friday, 1 April, while the city's western side would see a lockdown the following week, from 1 April.

However, China's financial markets and the world's biggest Shanghai port have not seen sweeping lockdowns and are operating at normal capacity.

(With inputs from Bloomberg.)