The Shanghainese did not come out of the hostel (or their homes).
Local authorities announced on Thursday that they would lock down the Minhang district in southwest Shanghai on Saturday.
Its 2.7 million inhabitants will be screened there.
“The closure will be lifted after the collection of the samples,” authorities said on the WeChat social network, without specifying a specific date or time, or what measures will be taken in the event of the discovery of positive cases.
Under the zero Covid national health strategy, all those who test positive are in theory placed in quarantine.
Several hundred thousand people were already confined to their residential compounds due to the detection of positive cases.
Yet the city last week lifted much of the restrictions weighing on its 25 million residents, who had been confined since at least early April in order to deal with an outbreak of Covid-19.
Thursday's announcement therefore aroused the concern of Internet users about a potential general reconfinement of the city.
"Will the (Minhang) district's lockdown really be lifted after the samples are collected?
asks a user of the Weibo social network.
“What will happen if there are positive results?
Will the lockdown continue?
», Worries another.
City hall on Thursday denied rumors that the rest of Shanghai would be locked down again.
World
Covid-19: Rare student grumbles in Beijing against anti-Covid measures
Health
Covid-19 in China: Reopening of businesses “in stages” from Monday in Shanghai
Health
China
Shanghai
Confinement
Asia
Coronavirus
Covid-19
epidemic