US embassy extends services to make up for Covid lockdown-hit Shanghai consulate
- A team in Beijing is helping with a surge in demand in the Shanghai consular district
- Some official personnel have left the financial centre, which is into its fourth week of standstill
The embassy said on Monday that it had reorganised operations to ensure they could help the affected American citizens.
“We have assembled a team based in Beijing to supplement the surge in demand for urgent citizen services and now have 80 officers working together to support the more than 40,000 American citizens in the Shanghai consular district alone,” the embassy said.
The consular district covers Shanghai and the provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
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The embassy said it was offering advice to American citizens who were having trouble leaving Shanghai and getting food and medical care in the lockdown.
“For US citizens in Shanghai who wish to depart China, commercial flights remain available but are limited. We are engaged on the issue of airport access for US citizen travellers with confirmed air tickets,” an embassy spokesman said.