SHANGHAI, China: Due to concerns that Shanghai’s strict COVID-19 lockdown could leave parents separated from their children, the U.S. has ordered all non-essential consulate employees to leave Shanghai and warned Americans not to travel there.

A day before the quarantine appeared to be easing, the U.S. Department of State evacuated staff on April 11.

However, this week, some of Shanghai’s 25 million residents were allowed to leave home for the first time in two weeks.

The State Department had also updated its travel advisory, urging Americans to “reconsider” going to China because of “arbitrary enforcement of local laws and COVID-19-related restrictions.”

Due to COVID-19-related restrictions, the U.S. issued a stronger “Do not travel” advisory for Hong Kong and Shanghai, including the risk of parents and children being separated.

Travelers will have to “quarantine at a government-designated location for a minimum of 14 days,” the department warned, adding that travelers will undergo daily tests and be locked in rooms, and those testing positive will be forced into “a government-designated medical or other quarantine facility.”

On 28th March, Shanghai abruptly closed businesses and ordered residents to stay home due to the worsening outbreak of COVID-19.

However, the vast majority of cases have been asymptomatic, with just 998 of the 23,346 new cases, or some 4 percent, recorded in Shanghai reporting any symptoms.

In addition, no deaths have been reported among the 200,000 cases recorded during the latest wave.

During a news conference, Lei Zhenglong of the National Health Commission, said, “The epidemic is in a period of rapid growth. Community transmission has not been effectively contained.”

A Foreign Ministry spokesman also defended China’s handling of the outbreak and accused Washington of politicizing its evacuation.