Nearly-empty roads during a lockdown due to COVID-19 in Shanghai on Tuesday. Photo: VCG

Motor vehicles are prohibited from driving on roads amid the COVID-19 epidemic, except for those used for epidemic prevention and control, life support, urban operation, emergency response, emergency medical treatment and other necessary reasons, Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau said on Wednesday.

Shanghai on Wednesday issued a notice to further strengthen social order management such as residents under lockdown being forbidden to leave home, aiming to curb the virus' spread and ensure normal life returns as soon as possible.

All units and personnel are required to obey the related epidemic prevention laws and regulations. Traffic control measures will be adjusted dynamically according to the epidemic situation, said the notice.  

Residents living in areas classified as "locked down" and "controlled" are not allowed to leave their residential communities when they are under self-health monitoring at home or participate in gatherings, according to the authorities.

People living in "precautionary" regions are prohibited to enter regions that are "locked down" or "controlled."

Shanghai has classified areas as either "locked down," "controlled" or "precautionary" based on screening results and risk situation. The city lifted lockdowns for 7,565 communities after zero COVID-19 positive cases were reported in these regions in the past two weeks.

Shanghai on Tuesday registered 1,189 local COVID-19 cases and 25,141 local asymptomatic infections, according to the local health authority on Wednesday. By Tuesday, of all the 9,903 local COVID-19 patients in Shanghai, 7,776 are hospitalized including nine in critical condition; the rest have been discharged upon recovery, Shanghai health authority said on Wednesday. 

The acts of breaking prevention rules such as intentionally breaking door seals, refusing COVID-19 tests are not allowed. COVID-19 positive people are not allowed to refuse centralized treatment or quarantine and close contacts of positive cases should go to designated sites for medical observation, according to the notice.  

Anyone who verbally abuses or beats medical workers, community workers, volunteers and other epidemic prevention workers, or disturbs public order at hospitals, makeshift hospitals and quarantine sites shall be punished in accordance with the law and regulations.

Anyone who fabricates or deliberately spreads false information related to the epidemic and those who forge, alter, trade nucleic acid test certificates, road passes and other certification documents shall be punished based on law and regulations as well.

Those who violate the provisions will be dealt with by the public security organs in accordance with the law and regulations. If the case constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law, the notice said.