Much of Shanghai locked down as mass COVID-19 testing begins

BEIJING (AP) — China began locking down most of its largest city of Shanghai on Monday as a coronavirus outbreak surges and amid questions about the economic toll of the nation’s “zero-COVID” strategy. Shanghai’s financial district and nearby areas will be locked down until Friday as citywide mass testing gets underway. In the second phase of the lockdown, the vast downtown area west of the Huangpu River will start its own five-day lockdown Friday. Shanghai detected 3,500 cases on Sunday, though nearly all were positive for the virus without showing symptoms. China has maintained its “zero-tolerance” strategy of using lockdowns, mass testing and quarantining of close contacts to eradicate community transmission of the virus as quickly as possible.