US Orders Departure of Consulate Staff from Shanghai

The US Department of State has ordered non-emergency US Consulate staff and their entire family to be removed from Shanghai after the city's health authorities announced more than 23,000 new daily infections.

US Embassy spokesperson has said that the ordered departure means that the company is now mandating that certain employees depart Shanghai rather than making this decision voluntary. 

In Shanghai, a coastal megacity in eastern China and one of the country's major business and financial hubs, the number of Covid-19 cases has skyrocketed, authorities have imposed a city-wide lockdown and the city's 25 million people are confined to stay in their homes or centralize quarantine facilities.

The US State Department said in a statement that it had updated its officers' safety assessments in light of the outbreak, adding that it would check its status every 30 days.

The statement added that Shanghai consultant staff and their family members will depart on commercial flights, and Beijing embassy officials would fill the void in assisting with the provision of emergency citizen services in Shanghai.