Shanghai, China's commercial powerhouse, came to a halt on Friday when the authorities quarantined the majority of the city's 26 million citizens to limit the spread of COVID-19, even though local cases fell for the second day in a row.

Late Thursday, the municipal authorities prolonged an existing lockdown in eastern areas, just as western parts of the city were slated to close.

According to new official guidelines, many residents of China's most populous metropolis will now be obliged to stay at home for the duration of the outbreak's control - ordered not to leave their doorsteps even to dispose of trash or walk their pets.

Public transportation has been suspended throughout the city, and businesses deemed non-essential, such as restaurants and retail centers, have also been forced to close.

The shutdown, which began on Monday and was initially scheduled to last ten days, was intended to end an outbreak of the highly transmissible Omicron variety that started roughly a month ago. Eastern areas of Shanghai were scheduled to close for five days before returning, while western districts began a five-day closure.

However, the city government said that it would gradually remove limits in east Shanghai.

This implies that the bulk of areas is now under lockdown, including the office towers of Lujiazui, China's Wall Street, and factories such as Volkswagen's joint venture with SAIC Motor and Tesla's plant in the United States.

China's outbreak is minor in comparison to global outbreaks. However, Shanghai, which now accounts for three out of every four local asymptomatic cases in the country, has emerged as a testbed for the national government's COVID response - a "dynamic clearance" strategy aimed at testing for, tracking down, and centrally quarantining all positive cases.

On Friday, authorities stated that the city's daily infection count decreased for the second consecutive day: it reported 4,144 locally transmitted new asymptomatic cases and 358 symptomatic cases on Thursday, down from 5,298 and 355 the previous day.

However, several people have expressed reservations about the daily tally, questioning how positive cases are entered into the system. Shanghai publishes a daily list of addresses where cases have been discovered. Several residents have complained that their housing compounds were included only days after neighbors tested positive – or were not included at all.

Shanghai city officials did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the case number's skepticism.

Residents will be expected to submit to rounds of nucleic acid testing while under lockdown, conducted by healthcare staff wearing hazmat suits. They are only permitted to leave their apartments for the duration of the testing, which will take place within or near their housing compounds.

Due to public concern about possible contagion dangers, residents have been advised to line up two meters apart for testing.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai New International Expo Center, generally used to host trade fairs such as the Shanghai Autoshow, has been converted into the city's most significant central quarantine center, with over 15,000 beds, according to Xinhua news agency.