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The Chinese city of Shanghai is facing an extended lockdown as the local government continues to carry out the national government's "zero-Covid" strategy in an attempt to stamp out the growing spread of the Omicron virus, according to France 24.

This was in spite of rising calls from the public for local authorities to ease the tough Covid-19 measures amid growing complaints of a lack of food and other supplies.

Such public outcry had recently intensified after it was reported that children who tested positive for Covid-19 were being separated from their parents.

Mother and child forced to separate: Reuters

Under China's "zero-Covid" policy, everyone, even children, who test positive for Covid-19 must be isolated from non-infected people.

Because of this ruling, young children who tested positive have been kept in isolation away from their parents.

Speaking to Reuters, a mother in Shanghai named Esther Zhao shared that her two and a half-year-old daughter was taken to the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center in the city's Jinshan district.

After both she and her daughter tested positive for Covid-19, they were separated despite her pleas that her daughter was too young to be on her own.

Doctors reportedly threatened that if she did not cooperate, her daughter would be left at the hospital while she would be sent to the centre instead.

Since then, Zhao has not received any images of her daughter as of April 2, and only had one short message from a group chat with the doctors that her daughter was "fine".

Zhao's husband, who also tested positive for Covid, is being isolated in a separate facility.

Shanghai health officials claim that images circulating online are misleading

A series of photos and videos were posted on China's Weibo and Douyin, supposedly of the children in isolation.

There have been growing concerns after the videos and images surfaced, which were reportedly taken in the child facility in Jinshan centre located in Shanghai, according to Reuters.

The Guardian shared a video of children purportedly in isolation, although it is unclear whether these are the same images referred to by Reuters.

The video shows three toddlers kept in a cot, next to another cot with three infants inside. In another clip, a wailing toddler walks out of a room, moving towards the camera.

The Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center responded and said that the media circulating online was not taken at the Jinshan infant quarantine facility.

One of the videos taken was allegedly when the hospital was moving its paediatric ward to another building to improve the situation in the hospital, the centre said on its WeChat account on Apr. 2.

It pledged to improve communication with the children's parents.

U-turn on isolation policy

The local Shanghai government has since responded to the parent's concerns and will be easing these measures.

Wu Qianyu, an official from the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, said on Monday (Apr. 4) that parents who also tested positive can accompany their children, as reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Also according to SCMP, two senior executives at top public hospitals in Shanghai said that a small number of parents will be able to accompany their Covid-19 positive children, below the age of seven, even if they test negative for Covid-19.

In addition, special needs children who test positive can be accompanied by their parent or guardian.

They will be isolated at a temporary hospital at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.

Extended lockdown

Shanghai's two-stage lockdown of its 25 million residents, to carry out Covid-19 testing, has been extended.

The authorities previously said it would divide Shanghai into two along the Huangpu River, with districts to the east and some districts to the west.

They will be locked down and tested between Mar. 28 and Apr.1, according to Reuters. The remaining areas will be locked down and tested between Apr.1 and 5.

All public transport in the areas that are locked down will be suspended, including ride-hailing services. Similarly, firms and factories will suspend operations or require employees to work remotely, except those involved in operating public services or supplying food.

The National Health Commission and SCMP reported that Shanghai had 19,982 new Covid-19 cases on Apr. 7. BBC also reported the same number.

This is the record high number of cases for the sixth straight day as the city undergoes more tests.

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Top image credit Weibo user.