US orders some personnel to leave Shanghai consulate
A worker in a protective suit keeps watch next to barricades set around a sealed-off area, during a lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Shanghai, China April 11, 2022. - REUTERS
WASHINGTON: The U.S. State Department on Monday ordered non-emergency U.S. government workers to leave the consulate in Shanghai due to a surge in COVID cases and China's measures to control the virus.
On Friday, the State Department announced that non-emergency personnel could voluntarily leave the consulate. It is not clear why the departure of those workers has become mandatory.
The most controversial of Shanghai's practices had been separating COVID-positive children from their parents. Authorities have since made some concessions.
The State Department cited the risk of parents and children being separated in Monday's announcement.
Shanghai is fighting China's worst COVID-19 outbreak since the virus first emerged in Wuhan in late 2019.
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