China's most populous city has locked down millions of its residents, again tightening the first phase of two-stage Covid-19 defences as the number of daily cases passed 4,400.
On Tuesday, many residents in Shanghai were asked to stay at home unless they were going out for a coronavirus test.
The city, which is China's financial centre and has a population of 26 million people, is in its second day of a lockdown that splits it roughly along the line of the Huangpu River.
It divides the historic centre from the eastern business and industrial district of Pudong to allow for staggered testing.
While the Shanghai caseload remains modest by global standards – a record 4,381 asymptomatic cases and 96 symptomatic cases for March 28 – the city has become a testing ground for the country's “zero-Covid” strategy as it tries to bring the highly infectious Omicron variant under control.
Residents east of the Huangpu were initially locked down in housing compounds on Monday, but mostly allowed to move within the compounds.
On Tuesday, however, two residents told Reuters they were informed by their neighbourhood committees they were no longer allowed to cross their doorsteps.
“Children were still having picnics yesterday and having fun,” one said.
Wu Qianyu, an official with the municipal health commission, told a press briefing on Tuesday that locked-down residents should not leave home, even to take pets for exercise or throw rubbish out.
“This is in fact a key stage in nucleic acid testing, and we have made a clear request for people in locked down areas to stay home,” she said.
She said 17,000 testing personnel from Shanghai and surrounding regions had set up 6,300 stations and conducted a total of 8.26 million tests in locked-down districts on Monday.
“The vast numbers of medical staff, grass roots cadres, community workers and volunteers shared the very hard work on the front line of epidemic prevention and control and should be thanked,” she said.
Empty streets
Drone footage published by Chinese state media showed empty streets surrounding the skyscrapers of the city's Lujiazui financial district in Pudong. Public transport in the east has been shut and all unapproved vehicles have been barred from roads.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange, in the western part of the city, said it kept a skeleton staff in place within the bourse for positions such as trading and technical system operations, while others work from home.
Residents in the west of the city continued to rush to grocery stores and vegetable markets to stock up in anticipation of the April 1 start date of their lockdown, with long queues and crowds.
US hypermarket chain Costco said it was closing from Tuesday, before the area's scheduled lockdown, along with some gyms and shopping malls which also sit in Shanghai's western districts.
The Shanghai government rolled out more measures to try to support coronavirus-affected businesses on Tuesday, including rent exemptions and billions of yuan in tax rebates.
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THREE
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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Explainer: Tanween Design Programme
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
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