Authorities began locking down some Western areas of Shanghai two days ahead of schedule on Wednesday (March 30), as they battle a surge in new daily COVID-19 cases.

Long lines of people queued up for COVID-19 tests.

China’s most populous city had already imposed stringent measures to prevent the virus from spreading, with residents in the east locked down since Monday (March 28) and those in the West previously scheduled to start their four-day lockdown on Friday.

Authorities have divided the city roughly along the Huangpu River, splitting the historic centre from the eastern financial and industrial district of Pudong to allow for staggered testing.

However Shanghai, home to 26 million people, reported a record 5,656 asymptomatic cases and 326 symptomatic cases for Tuesday, surging by a third from the previous day and pressuring authorities to move faster.

Several residents living in western districts received notice from their housing committees that they would be stopped from leaving their compounds for the next seven days.