Shanghai to start another round of citywide COVID tests

Reuters
Updated ·1 min read
COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Shanghai will ask all 26 million residents to take another round of COVID-19 tests, a city official said on Wednesday, adding that lockdown curbs would continue until the exercise is complete.

Some residents will be asked to take nucleic acid tests, while the rest will be asked to self-test using antigen tests, city officials told a news conference.

Asked about growing public concern about the policy of separating children from parents if either had contracted COVID-19 but the others had not, one official said that while the treatment of minors must adhere to rules, authorities were also considering their needs.

The officials did not say if the policy had changed, but said some parents would be allowed to accompany their children if they met certain conditions, but would be asked to follow protective measures. They gave no further details. (This story has been refiled to correct day of the week in paragraph 1 to Wednesday from Monday)

(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Christopher Cushing)