China Sends Military, Armed Police, and Health Workers to Shanghai Amid Its Worst Virus Outbreak

A worker holds up signs that say "Keep one meter distance" and "Do not crowd" as residents line up for mass COVID testing in a lockdown area in the Jingan district of western Shanghai, April 4, 2022. China has sent more than 10,000 health care workers from across the country to Shanghai, including 2,000 military medical staff, as China's largest city struggles to stamp out a rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak. AP Photo/Chen Si

Chinese authorities have sent health care workers from 15 different provinces, as well as armed police and special police officers, to Shanghai, to help the city combat the worst outreak of the CCP virus in China since the pandemic began. Vice Premier Sun Chunlan urged Shanghai residents to adhere to the zero-COVID approach and “achieve community zero-Covid in a week.”

China Central Television (CCTV) reported on April 4 that more than 38,000 medical personnel from 15 Chinese provinces have been dispatched to support Shanghai. A resident near Shanghai’s Hongqiao airport wrote in a social media post that he noticed frequent inbound flights landing at the airport. “I feel frightened at the thought that all the passengers on board are coming here to support our COVID fight,” he said.