Shanghai keeps COVID curbs, some infections rise

STORY: That sober assessment came after health officials earlier in the week had fuelled hopes of some return to normal by saying that trends in recent days showed Shanghai had "effectively curbed transmissions".

The central district of Jingan, home to nearly 1 million people and some of the city's flashiest malls, on Thursday morning said it would no longer allow any residents out of their housing compounds citing risks of large gatherings.

Shanghai reported 15,861 new local asymptomatic coronavirus cases on Wednesday, down from 16,407 a day earlier. Symptomatic cases stood at 2,634, up from 2,494.

There were 441 new cases outside quarantined areas, up from 390 a day earlier.