'Citywide lockdown in Shanghai' a rumor: authorities

Local authorities on Tuesday night dismissed a rumor saying Shanghai will be entirely locked down.

The rumor circulating online said a citywide lockdown will be imposed in Shanghai for seven days after the inspectors from the State Council arrived in the city.

Local authorities said the claim is not true. They also advise residents not to circulate the rumor.

There is also no need to hoard food and daily necessities, authorities said.

After the latest screenings around the city, a good number of residential complexes, subdistricts and towns have met the requirements to step out of lockdown, according to Shanghai's COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control office.

Based on the analysis of the results of the last screenings, a new round of PCR tests will be carried out in some residential complexes, subdistricts and towns, according to the office.

The goal is to timely single out close contacts of those found to be positive with the virus in a subdistrict or a town. Control measures will be further narrowed down to residential complexes, according to the office.

If more positive cases are discovered in the residential complex where cases were reported previously, the residential buildings where the new cases are located will be subject to control, the office said.