Covid returns to haunt China's Shanghai: Three-day mass testing from tomorrow to arrest virus spread

SHANGHAI: Shanghai will require residents across nine of the city`s districts and some smaller areas to undergo testing for COVID-19 over July 19-21 in an effort to stem any community spread of the virus, the city government said on Monday.

Residents of the districts, which include Xuhui, Jingan and Huangpu, will be required to take two COVID-19 tests over the three-day period.

This comes as the country continues to pursue its "zero-Covid" policy.

Data leased last week showed that China's economy contracted sharply in the second quarter of this year as widespread coronavirus lockdowns hit businesses and consumers. Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 2.6 per cent in the three months to the end of June from the previous quarter.

Major cities across China, including the major financial and manufacturing centre Shanghai, were put into full or partial lockdowns during this period.

On a year-on-year basis, the world's second-largest economy expanded by 0.4 per cent in the April-June quarter, missing expectations of 1 per cent growth.

With Agency Inputs