US Tells Non-Essential Diplomatic Staff to Leave Shanghai as Lockdowns Drag On

A woman looks out of an apartment during a COVID-19 lockdown in the Jing'an district in Shanghai on April 9, 2022. Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. State Department has told all non-essential consular staff that they must leave the Chinese city of Shanghai, as China sticks to its inflexible policies in attempting to squash its COVID-19 outbreaks.

The April 11 announcement is an update from last week when Washington authorized non-emergency workers to depart U.S. Consulate General Shanghai on a voluntary basis, due to what it deemed “arbitrary” COVID-19 measures in the sealed-off megacity.