SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – Shanghai tightens its COVID-19 lockdown to eradicate infections from areas not under quarantine by the end of this month.

The curbs in each of the 16 city districts will vary as certain have hit the target. But, the residents said that they will remain the movement curbs until May 31st due to concerns of a rebound and despite falling coronavirus cases.

Based on accounts from several areas and posts to social media, the government in the City of 25 Million accelerated and expanded its efforts to move the positive contacts to the central quarantines centers.

Multiple residents claimed they were forced to go to such facilities despite being negative tests.

Another resident said that on Saturday, their housing compound told them they could no longer leave their homes or get deliveries. It was all part of the efforts to meet the “zero case at community level” goal.

An immediate response was not provided by Shanghai to our request for comment.

Shanghai reports thousands of cases per day. The vast majority are in closed-off areas like central quarantine facilities or premises under “closed loop management” and housing that prohibit residents from leaving their front doors.

In cities like Shenzhen last month, people were able to return to work after the city reopened public transport. This lockdown point has helped end community-level transmission.

Despite the Omicron virus threatening the community, Shanghai is still struggling to stop the spread. Reuters reports that authorities initially set a goal to achieve the goal by April 20. However, only two districts were able to meet this target.

“THERE IS NO REASON”

Authorities in Putuo-Chingning issued notices on Saturday advising residents living in housing complexes that were designated as low-risk prevention areas and could not leave the area.

One Pudong New District resident, Shanghai’s financial hub, stated to Reuters that he was sent a similar notice by his own compound.

Nine residents of nine housing complexes in Xuhui District, which is part of the French Concession Area, informed Reuters that their neighbour committees had notified them on Saturday that they will be prohibited from receiving deliveries or leaving their front doors for at least a few weeks.

“This is to reach zero cases at the community level’ as fast as possible, and allow for the lockdown lifting,” read a notice in Xuhui that was seen by Reuters. They said that curbs would remain in place up to May 15.

A neighbourhood committee declared on WeChat that in the interest of safety, it needed to remove all residents from one structure and then disinfect the surrounding area.

Video shared on social media thousands upon thousands showed police in hazmat suits arguing with residents after being told to relocate to quarantine following a neighbor’s positive test.

A second officer stated, “This is done so we can completely remove positive cases.” You can’t ask me why. It is important that we adhere to the national guidelines as well as the epidemiological control policy.

Reuters couldn’t independently verify the video.

Shanghai achieved zero COVID citywide outside of quarantine zones only two times, April 30th and May 1st. Since then, daily cases have been in double figures. According to city officials, districts that had no quarantine cases for more than three days consecutively were considered to be meeting the goal.

Shanghai, China reported eleven cases on Saturday outside of quarantined areas in five districts.

Officials did not provide any details on the process of lifting the lockdown. They warned the public about complacency.