China shuts down the world’s second tallest building in the fight against Kovid
(Bloomberg) — The Shanghai Tower was closed on Monday to contain a spreading COVID-19 outbreak in a rush of officials to trap visitors and visitors to China’s financial and technological hubs. went.
China’s tallest building and the world’s second tallest after Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the 128-floor skyscraper was closed in line with health authorities’ virus control measures, according to a statement from its asset management firm.
“We will cooperate with the government departments and take strict steps as per the relevant requirements. At the same time, we will also make every effort to ensure the living needs of the occupants of the building,” said Shanghai Tower CBRE Asset Management Company.
A security guard at the building’s entrance said the Shanghai Tower was closed after 8 a.m. Monday local time and people inside were barred from going until they were tested for the virus and No positive case found.
China generally locks down buildings if there are confirmed COVID patients inside, or even close contacts of known cases, to conduct mass testing and screening for infections. It is part of the country’s zero-tolerance approach to the virus that is being challenged by the highly infectious Omron variant and the scale of a new outbreak.
Home to the offices of financial industry firms including JPMorgan Chase & Company and Fitch Ratings Inc., the Shanghai Tower is a prominent feature of the Pudong District skyline. While it was not clear if there were any confirmed cases in the building, a notice at the entrance said it was “temporarily blocked due to pandemic control needs.”
China’s current COVID outbreak has not been seen in Wuhan since the start of the pandemic. Most schools and public parks in Shanghai have been closed and bus services from other provinces have been blocked. On Sunday, 169 new cases were reported in the city. An outbreak in southern China’s Shenzhen has led to the shutdown of the tech hub, leaving a major Apple Inc. The operations of the supplier and other companies have been impacted.
While JPMorgan employees were told on Sunday that they could work from home from Monday due to the number of COVID cases in Shanghai, they were informed that the office would remain open to those who need to work there. A person familiar with the matter said. On Monday morning they were informed that the building was closed, the person said, asking anonymity and discussing information that was not public.
A representative for JPMorgan in China did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The rising caseload and crackdown in Shenzhen have fueled speculation that Shanghai could also be closed. The closure of the city of Shanghai’s visibility and importance to China would be an unprecedented move, with officials favoring more targeted virus mitigation measures in the largest cities. But Omicron is challenging the so-called COVID Zero strategy like never before, and China’s responses are becoming more intense as it tries to avoid a repeat of the situation in Hong Kong, where the pathogen is spiraling out of control.
Mass testing and lockdown are key tools in the COVID Zero arsenal to identify cases and contain the spread, as well as stringent border restrictions and mandatory quarantine for all incoming passengers. China’s aviation regulators are discussing diverting international flights from Shanghai, Bloomberg reported on Friday amid pressure on quarantine hotels and concerns about the outbreak.
– With the assistance of Winnie Zhu.
© 2022 Bloomberg LP
