BEIJING (AP) – Following a public outcry, Shanghai is allowing at least some parents to stay with children infected with COVID-19, making an exception to the isolation policy of any positive test.
The announcement came as China’s largest city remained in a lockdown and conducted more massive tests on Wednesday after a new leap in new cases.
A senior city health official told a news conference that parents could apply to stay with children with “special needs” and accompany them if they fully understood the health risks and signed an agreement.
Parents should wear masks, dine at a different time from their children, avoid sharing items with them and follow all the rules strictly, said Wu Qianyu of the Shanghai Municipal Health Committee. He did not define what is described as “special needs”.
The announcement followed reports in the Chinese state media a day earlier that a secluded space set up at the Shanghai New International Exhibition Center was accepting children with parents. The city has opened large isolation centers for tens of thousands of people to isolate the growing number of positive cases.
Reports that parents were separating from their infected children had sparked a wave of online protests over the weekend, sparked by photos showing many children in each crib with no parents visible.
Shanghai reported 17,077 new cases reported the previous day, all but 311 in asymptomatic individuals. According to China’s zero-COVID-19 approach, the city requires all those who are positive to be kept in designated locations for observation, along with their close contacts.
The latest cases bring the total of Shanghai to about 90,000 in an outbreak that started last month. No deaths have been attributed to the outbreak caused by the omicron BA.2 variant, which is much more contagious but also less deadly than the previous delta strain. Two deaths were reported in another ongoing outbreak in northeast China’s Jilin Province.
An official from the EU Chamber of Commerce in China has joined a growing chorus of critics of the lockdown in Shanghai, which has disrupted daily life and trade in a major economic and business hub.
“We are seeing a serious shortage of basic necessities, especially fresh vegetables, and citizens are unable to receive their deliveries through their applications,” said Bettina Schoen-Behanzin, president of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce.
While some residents receive food supplies from their district government, he said “a kind of black market” has developed with “high prices” for fruits and vegetables.
“Another very big fear is coming to one of these massive quarantine hotspots,” Schoen-Behanzin told an online event for member companies and journalists.
Others complained earlier about the lack of doctors, volunteers and beds in the isolation wards. More than 38,000 health workers from 15 provinces have been sent to Shanghai to help with mass trials and other needs.
Beijing is also tightening its grip on 11 cases in the Chinese capital in recent days.
Authorities closed a shopping mall and office in the bustling Wangjing district and demanded that those arriving in the city show up at their place of work or residence within 12 hours and take a COVID-19 test within 72 hours. They must undergo another examination within 48 hours of returning to their place of work.
Despite growing public frustration and concerns about the economic impact, China says it insists on the tough “zero tolerance” approach of lockdowns, mass testing and the mandatory isolation of all suspected cases and close contacts.
While China’s vaccination rate is around 90%, domestically produced inactivated virus vaccines are considered weaker than mRNA vaccines such as those produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna used abroad, as well as in Chinese territories. and Macau. Vaccination rates among the elderly are also much lower than in the general population, with only about half of those over 80 being fully vaccinated.
Associated Press business writer Joe McDonald and researcher Yu Bing in Beijing and researcher Chen Si in Shanghai contributed to this report.
