U.S. orders all non-emergency consular staff to leave Shanghai due to COVID-19

The State Department said the order is an upgrade from the ``authorized'' departure issued last week that made the decision voluntary.

The U.S. has ordered all non-emergency consular staff to leave Shanghai, which is under a tight lockdown to contain a COVID-19 surge.

The State Department said the order is an upgrade from the “authorized” departure issued last week that made the decision voluntary.

The order covers “non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members from U.S. Consulate General Shanghai.”

In its late Monday announcement, the department said, “Our change in posture reflects our assessment that it is best for our employees and their families to be reduced in number and our operations to be scaled down as we deal with the changing circumstances on the ground.”

The department also issued a series of advisories for Americans in Shanghai, including that they ensure they have a “sufficient supply of money, medication, food, and other necessities for your family in the event of sudden restrictions or quarantine.”

Many residents in the city of 26 million have been confined to their homes for up to three weeks. Many describe an increasingly desperate situation, with families unable to leave their homes or obtain supplies of food and daily necessities, while people who test positive for the virus have been forced into mass quarantine centers where conditions have at times been described as crowded and unsanitary.

Despite the complaints, China has stuck to its “zero-COVID” strategy of handling outbreaks with strict isolation and mass testing.

China’s government and the entirely state-controlled media are growing increasingly defensive about complaints over the COVID-19 prevention measures.