SHANGHAI (Reuters). Despite a mass campaign to curb the spread of coronavirus, authorities in Shanghai deny rumors about a local lockdown.

Even though the recent outbreak at China’s rich commercial center is small, authorities have begun testing. Residents were locked for days in their homes as they implement a nationwide “dynamic clearance” policy to eliminate flare-ups.

Shanghai had more than 1,000 local COVID-19-infected people on Tuesday. But, Shanghai said that the city would continue to use its “slicing & gridding” method and will screen residents neighbourhood by neighborhood rather than close down.

Panic buying erupted on Tuesday night due to rumours of a lockdown. Alibaba (NYSE): The delivery app “Freshhippo,” expires at midnight.

“Please believe not and spread myths,” said the government on Weibo’s microblog.

At Wednesday’s briefing, a city official said that it had converted two stadiums to quarantine rooms for mild cases or asymptomatic carriers.

The firm that manages the transit system stated Wednesday that a few subway stations had also been suspended, in reference to COVID-19 control.

According to data provided by the National Health Commission, 977 domestically transmissible asymptomatic infection cases were reported in the municipality on Tuesday. This is an increase of 865 from the previous day.

China reported 4 cases in China with confirmed symptoms. This is a decrease from the 31 that China had earlier.

‘INFINITE LOOP’

While some areas were not sealed, many others were kept closed for several days in order to remove transmission chains. Some residents claimed that the compounds would be sealed for two weeks after one of their neighbors tested positive.

Under the user Zhang Fan’s Viewpoint, a resident said that the authorities could lock the city down to end the uncertainty created sometimes by extended 48-hour testing lockdowns.

According to the resident, “The interminable loop of 48 hour plus 48 hour plus 48hours plus 48 hours can cause normal people to lose their control of emotions. Therefore, it is better to immediately notify six, eight or fourteen days.”

A one-off payment in these situations is preferable to an instalment.

The NHC data revealed that Mainland China had reported 2,591 cases of locally transmitted disease with verified symptoms Tuesday. This was up from 2,281 a single day earlier. According to the NHC data, there were now 2,346 cases with local symptoms, as opposed to 2,313 one day prior.

Tangshan is the world’s top steelmaker. It said that citizens who aren’t essential workers should stay at home, unless there was an immediate need or to have their health tested. However, the city government didn’t specify when it would lift its citywide lockdown.

Shenyang in northeast China also said that their 9 million citizens would be subject to three additional rounds of testing, starting Thursday and ending March 30. This is after three rounds were completed.

On March 22nd, mainland China reported that there had been 137,231 confirmed cases of symptoms. This includes both those from the mainland and people who arrived from abroad. No new deaths were reported, leaving 4,638 people dead.

In late 2019, the coronavirus was discovered in Wuhan, China.