The US State Department has ordered the evacuation of non-essential staff from the US consulate in the eastern Chinese city of Shanghai and their families due to the rebound in Covid cases and the strong measures imposed by the Chinese authorities to control it.
The institution published a statement on Monday announcing this measure after last Friday it authorized the voluntary evacuation of representation workers.
Likewise, the Department advised “reconsidering” any trip to China due to “the arbitrary execution of local laws” and due to the current restrictions to contain the Covid .
It also advises against traveling to Hong Kong, Jilin province and the Shanghai municipality due to the strict measures imposed to curb outbreaks, “including the risk of separating parents and children.”
One of the most notorious effects of the prolonged confinement in Shanghai has been the difficulties for citizens to stock up on food and other basic products , although the authorities have distributed some food to the population.
Last weekend, Beijing submitted a formal complaint to Washington for criticizing Chinese anti-covid restrictions, which include the confinement of entire cities as in the case of Shanghai.
“We are not at all satisfied with the US accusations. We firmly oppose them and have filed a formal complaint for this reason,” foreign spokesman Zhao Lijian said.
Although the rest of the world has resigned itself to living with the virus, the Chinese authorities insist on their “zero Covid” strategy despite the fact that the last wave has so far resulted in two deaths and a high rise in cases above all. asymptomatic.
The high transmissibility of the omicron variant has returned China to the starting point in its particular “battle” against Covid, with strong restrictions on mobility and closed borders abroad, in addition to the aforementioned confinements.
The total number of active infections in mainland China amounts to 21,991, 77 of them in serious condition, according to the accounts of the country’s National Health Commission.
According to its statistics, since the start of the pandemic , 166,849 people have been infected in the country and 4,638 have died, the last two in March, which were the first deaths recorded in more than a year.