Shanghai discharges thousands of patients
BEIJING – Shanghai on Sunday discharged over 11,000 recovered COVID-19 patients and health authorities emphasized that they must be allowed to return home despite the lockdown that has severely restricted movement in China’s largest city.
The city of 26 million people reported 1,006 confirmed infections and nearly 24,000 asymptomatic cases in the last 24 hours. Shanghai has been under lockdown since March 28, and authorities said Saturday that the strict measures would be lifted in areas with no new cases in the last 14 days following another round of mass testing.
Meanwhile, Shanghai authorities said that they have secured daily supplies for residents from online platforms, according to state-owned newspaper Global Times, following complaints about deliveries of food and other basic necessities as the lockdown enters its third week.
Residents have resorted to group buying of groceries because they are not allowed to leave their buildings. Posts circulating on social media platforms such as Weibo also show that some residents have not been able to have their food orders delivered, while others posted online that they’re running out of food.
Elsewhere:
● India began offering booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine to all adults on Sunday but limited free shots at government centers to front-line workers and people over age 60.
The doses, which India is calling a “precautionary” shot instead of a booster, are available to people nine months after they receive their second jab, the Health Ministry said in a statement Friday. Those outside the two priority categories will need to pay for the shots at privately run facilities, the ministry said.
● New York City Mayor Eric Adams tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, his 100th day in office, according to a spokesperson.
New York City has been experiencing a steady resurgence in virus cases over the past month. It’s now averaging around 1,800 new cases per day – not counting the many home tests that go unreported to health officials. That’s triple the number in early March, when the city began relaxing rules.