The US state department on Monday ordered non-emergency US government workers to leave the consulate in Shanghai due to a surge in Covid cases and China’s measures to control the virus.
On Friday, the state department announced that non-emergency personnel could voluntarily leave the consulate. It is not clear why the departure of those workers has become mandatory.
“Our change in posture reflects our assessment that it is best for our employees and their families to be reduced in number and our operations to be scaled down as we deal with the changing circumstances on the ground,” the department said on Monday.
China responded angrily to the earlier voluntary departure order.
China's government and the entirely state-controlled media are growing increasingly defensive about complaints over the COVID-19 prevention measures.
Beijing responded angrily to last week's voluntary departure advisory, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian saying China was "strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to the U.S. side's groundless accusation against China's epidemic response."
In that announcement, the State Department advised Americans to reconsider traveling to China due to "arbitrary enforcement" of local laws and COVID-19 restrictions, particularly in Hong Kong, Jilin province and Shanghai. U.S. officials cited a risk of "parents and children being separated."
In the last several weeks, mainland China has faced its worst Covid outbreak since the initial phase of the pandemic in early 2020.
While cases have been reported across the country, the northern province of Jilin and the southeastern city of Shanghai are among the hardest hit, with local authorities imposing stringent stay-home measures and travel restrictions in an attempt to control the outbreaks.
Last week, Shanghai authorities eased quarantine measures that had separated parents from their children. This week, the city announced a phased process for easing lockdowns.
The city had attempted one of the most targeted Covid control policies to control a spike in cases since late February, but eventually locked down the city in two stages beginning in late March — in the name of conducting mass testing.
Shanghai is a hub for many foreign businesses in China, while Jilin is home to many auto factories.
“The employees and family members will depart on commercial flights,” U.S. Mission China said Tuesday in a separate statement. “The Department ordered the departure due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.”
