The United States has ordered all non-essential staff at its Shanghai consulate to leave the Chinese city amid an outbreak of covid-19. and a harsh confinement decreed by the authorities, an embassy spokesman said on Tuesday.
The State Department “ordered the departure due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak” and US diplomats have expressed “concern for the safety and well-being of US citizens to officials of the People’s Republic of China.”said this spokesman in a statement.
China has adhered to a “Covid Zero” policy, aiming to eliminate infections through strict quarantines, mass testing and travel restrictions.
Shanghai has undergone some of the harshest measures since the virus first emerged in Wuhan in 2019.with a severe lockdown that has left many struggling to get enough food and thousands sent to quarantine centers.
The megacity reported more than 23,000 new Covid infections on Tuesday, with most of its 25 million residents still under strict lockdown.
The US embassy said last week it would allow non-essential employees to leave its consulate in Shanghai due to rising cases.warning citizens in China that they may face “arbitrary application” of virus restrictions.
The State Department is now ordering employees to leave as “it is in the best interest of our employees and their families that they be reduced in number and that our operations be scaled back as we deal with changing circumstances on the ground,” he said. the spokesman in the statement.
The weariness in Shanghai due to confinement has been combined in recent days with outrage once morest the authorities, following several videos have gone viral showing the cruel killing of pets of people infected with COVID.
The authorities argue that there is a fear of getting infected through dogs and cats, amid the strict “COVID zero” policy ordered by the Xi Jinping regime. But far from seeking confinement or appropriate measures for pets, on several occasions Agents were found to violently kill helpless suffering animals.
In a video, verified by the AFP, an official dressed in a protective suit can be seen clubbing a dog to death in the middle of the street. A local media outlet reported on Thursday that the neighborhood committee had confessed to having eliminated the animal for “fear of infection”, admitting that it was a “thoughtless” act.
(With information from AFP)
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