U.S. State Department issues travel advisory for Shanghai amid COVID-19 surge

April 12 (UPI) -- As COVID-19 cases surge in Shanghai, the United States' Department of State has asked non-emergency government personnel and their families to leave the Chinese city.

The State Department issued a statement Monday urging people to reconsider traveling to the People's Republic of China amid arbitrary enforcement of local laws and COVID-19-related restrictions.

The advisory also cautioned against traveling to Hong Kong's Special Administrative Region (SAR) and Jilin province, noting a risk of children being separated from parents.

China has expressed strong dissatisfaction with and "firmly opposes" the United State's "groundless accusation" of China's COVID-19 policy, according to a translated statement issued Saturday from foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for Hong Kong. Level 4 is the highest COVID-19 notice level.

On Saturday, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in China said in a statement that the Consular Section in Shanghai is closed to the public due to local COVID-19 control measures.

Consulate staff will remain on site 24 hours a day to offer emergency services to U.S. citizens.

The United States issued a similar travel advisory on Friday allowing non-emergency government employees and families to leave Shanghai voluntarily.

In March, China reported its first COVID-19 deaths since early 2021 as cases of the Omicron variant significantly rose.

It was reported a month prior that the country of 1.4 billion people hadn't had a COVID-19 fatality since the start of last year.

The foreign business hub of Shanghai has seen over 130,000 cases since March 1.