Seoul will send relief goods for Koreans under a massive mandatory COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday.

“While Shanghai City announced to ease the lockdown measures, some areas are still in lockdown so we are closely monitoring the situation and putting effort to resolve problems for the people in those neighborhoods,” the Foreign Ministry said.

The South Korean consulate general in Shanghai has obtained two vehicle passes from the Chinese government to deliver necessities within the city, the ministry said.

The consulate general also negotiated with the Chinese government to support the return of 26 Korean students there to Korea, it added.

“The government will continue to supply supplies for the Korean people in difficult situations, and also secure the transportation to guarantee safe return of the people,” the ministry said.

The daily record of COVID-19 infections in the Chinese financial hub hit 23,072 on Thursday, according to the Foreign Ministry.

From Monday, Shanghai announced it is grouping residential units into three risk categories and would gradually ease the measures to allow “appropriate activity” in neighborhoods with no positive cases in a two-week stretch. 

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)