Streets blocked off in Shanghai as China toughens zero-Covid approach

A security guard wearing a face mask stands watch as masked residents use their smartphone to scan their health code at a barricaded entrance to a commercial office complex in Beijing (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Volunteers and government workers in Shanghai erected metal barriers in multiple districts to block off small streets and entrances to apartment complexes, as China hardened its strict “zero-Covid” approach in its largest city despite growing complaints from residents.

In the city’s financial district, Pudong, the barriers – thin metal sheets or mesh fences – were put up in several neighbourhoods under a local government directive, according to Caixin, a Chinese business media outlet.