Shanghai defends strict quarantine rules

An official with Shanghai’s disease control centre has defended the strict imposition of Covid-19 quarantine measures, rejecting accusations that officials were overstepping their authority. In a battle to stifle China’s largest coronavirus outbreak, Shanghai has forced the neighbours of positive cases to move into central quarantine facilities, even if they have tested negative. Social media has been flooded with accounts of the authorities also demanding that people hand over the keys to their homes so they can be disinfected. “The policies we are implementing right now are in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations,” said Sun Xiaodong, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.