Shanghai neighbourhoods barricaded as Covid cases grow

Shanghai authorities on Wednesday appealed for calm as worried citizens swarmed online grocery platforms to stock up on food, fearing imminent closures in a city struggling to stem a Covid spike.

China is experiencing its worst Covid-19 outbreak since the pandemic began more than two years ago, with Shanghai posting a record number of cases as the highly transmissible Omicron variant frustrates authorities.

Shanghai has responded to the outbreak with targeted residential containment in areas with confirmed cases or close contacts, rather than citywide containment, to minimize disruption.

But as the number of cases increases, public concern is growing, and residents have taken to social media to express their fear of further closures in this city of about 25 million people.