The Phase 1 lockdown of east Shanghai, including Pudong, was set to end today, but officials have decided to extend the lockdown after mass testing revealed that Shanghai residents now account for three out of every four asymptomatic cases across the country. Meanwhile, Phase 2 went into effect as planned this morning for the more populous western side, Puxi.
Now, nearly all of the city’s 26 million residents have been forced to stay home and all public transportation has shut down. Factories across the entire city have suspended production and warehouses remain closed, with no confirmation for how long the strict measures will remain in place.
The Shanghai Pudong Airport is now under closed-loop management, meaning no one can enter or leave the facility, and has suspended most operations until further notice. As a result, most flights in and out of the city have been cancelled. Additional cancellations are expected to be announced early next week.
While the Port of Shanghai is still operating, productivity has fallen dramatically due to the shortage of longshoremen. In order to keep operations flowing, a handful of workers are living in sealed-off areas at the port to avoid contact with the outside world, but loading and unloading efficiency has been severely impacted, leading to severe congestion. Some carriers have reported lengthy vessel delays and have either omitted calls to Shanghai on some voyages or announced blank sailings. Many have diverted vessels to the nearby port of Ningbo, while others have opted for ports on the Yangtze River. But this too comes with its own set of challenges, as local authorities have suspended pilot arrangements along the Yangtze River for vessels requiring NAT/PCR testing, forcing the vessels to be quarantined.
Drayage operations at the port are still running, but trucking capacity continues to be severely impacted due to restrictions on road transport and strict testing requirements for truck drivers. In addition, all container movements between Shanghai and Jiangsu have been restricted.
