The U.S. State Department has told all non-essential consular staff that they must leave the Chinese city of Shanghai, as China sticks to its inflexible policies in attempting to squash its COVID-19 outbreaks. The April 11 announcement is an update from last week when Washington authorized non-emergency workers to depart U.S. Consulate General Shanghai on a voluntary basis, due to what it deemed “arbitrary” COVID-19 measures in the sealed-off megacity. “The movement from ‘authorized’ to ‘ordered’ departure means that we are now mandating that certain employees depart Shanghai rather than making this decision voluntary,” a U.S. embassy spokesperson said in a late Monday statement. “Our change in posture reflects our assessment that it is best for our employees and their families to be reduced in number and our operations to be scaled down as we deal with the changing circumstances on the ground.” According to the release, employees and their family …