China further tightened the first phase of a two-stage COVID lockdown in its most populated city, Shanghai, as cases increased past 4,400. Some people have been asked to stay indoors unless they get tested. Despite Shanghai’s case figures being modest considering global standards, with 4,381 asymptomatic cases and 96 symptomatic cases on March 28, the city is testing large numbers of citizens in line with the country’s “zero COVID” policy.Local authorities have split the city along the Huangpu River. The historic center has been separated from the eastern business and industrial district of Pudong to facilitate testing. An official with the municipal health commission stated that that locked-down residents are bot allowed to leave home, even for taking their pets out for a walk or for throwing the trash. (ET Healthworld – Reuters, March 29, 2022)