March 29

The eastern side of Shanghai is under strict restrictions on outings as authorities try to stop a surge in coronavirus numbers.

The city of more than 24 million people is being divided in two for a staggered citywide testing program.

Subways heading to the eastern half have stopped after the restrictions went into force there.

The city center is quiet. Police are wearing protective gear.

On Sunday, China's health authorities announced about 6,000 new cases of community infection in the country.

That's around the level seen in February 2020 when infections spread in the city of Wuhan.

Funabashi Ken of JETRO Shanghai said, "Shanghai has the world's largest container handling port. Trucks can't get in or out. There is great concern about the impact on the global supply chain."

Residents of the eastern half of the city are required to take PCR tests by Friday. Those in the western half are to be tested when restrictions are in effect there from Friday to next Tuesday.

Authorities are imposing the restrictions to limit people's movement during the testing periods.

Meanwhile, the number of new coronavirus cases in Tokyo is up compared to a week ago. Tokyo officials reported over 4,500 new cases on Monday. That's up about 700 from last Monday, for the second straight week-on-week increase.
Officials reported more than 29,000 new cases in the country on Monday.

The number of seriously ill patients stood at around 690.

NHK