Shanghai says 12.38 million residents now in lower-risk COVID zones

FILE PHOTO: People line up by a police cordon for nucleic acid testing, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China April 27, 2022. REUTERS/Jacqueline Wong

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - As many as 12.38 million Shanghai residents, nearly half the total population, are now in lower-risk areas, meaning they can leave their homes, the government said on Friday.

By April 28, the number of people unable to leave home has been reduced by 6.6 million, said Zhao Dandan, deputy director of Shanghai's health commission.