38,000 health workers dispatched to Shanghai as COVID outbreak worsens
Health officials in China have dispatched more than 38,000 health workers to Shanghai as the city of roughly 26 million remains in an extended lockdown from a roaring outbreak of the ultratransmissible omicron coronavirus variant.
The megacity, which functions as China's financial hub, entered a two-stage lockdown on March 28 that was initially intended to end April 5. But with nearly the entire city still confined to their homes or quarantine centers, officials say the lockdown will go on.
"The city will continue to implement seal and control management and strictly implement 'staying at home', except for medical treatment," Shanghai's government said on its official WeChat account, according to Reuters. There was no indication when the lockdown would lift. On Sunday, China reported more than 13,000 COVID-19 cases, a 143 percent jump over the last two weeks and a record-smashing high for the country. Of those cases, Shanghai accounted for just over 9,000 of them—the city tallied 8,581 asymptomatic cases and 425 symptomatic cases Sunday.
