Videos of clashes between police and residents who were forced to flee their homes in Shanghai, China, have gone viral after the third week of mandatory confinement for millions of people in the city, while the local government fought an outbreak of the new coronavirus fights.
Anyone who tests positive will be quarantined immediately. But with more than 20,000 new cases a day, authorities are struggling to find enough space to contain it.
In recent weeks, the city has converted exhibition halls and schools into quarantine centers and set up makeshift hospitals. Some entire housing developments have also been converted into detention centers.
But with a low rate of severe cases of Covid19, many are beginning to question whether such a radical lockdown is even necessary, according to the BBC’s China correspondents.
Shanghai imposes lockdown because of Covid, and 25 million people are kept at home
In recent weeks, many residents have taken to social media to complain about restrictions and food shortages.
People have to beg for food and water and wait for the government to put vegetables, meat and eggs outside their doors, and analysts say many are running out of supplies.
The extension of the lockdown has weighed on delivery services, grocery store websites and even government goods distribution.
According to BBC News Shanghai correspondent Robin Brant, after three weeks in detention, people are furious.
The governmentled operation evacuating many of their homes to convert apartments into quarantine centers was the last straw for some Chinese, he says.
2 of 2 A man wearing special protective gear walks his dog on a street in Shanghai, where 25 million people are locked up Photo: Aly Song/Reuters
A man in special protective gear walks his dog on a street in Shanghai, where 25 million people are locked up Photo: Aly Song / Reuters
“There was an organized protest a few miles away, a brave stance as the lockdown settled in a country where you can go to jail for provoking fights. They’re furious that a local school is being turned into yet another quarantine facility. . Kicked the police off the street,” reports Brant.
“It’s been a minor episode but it’s a sign of anger and frustration as this lockdown goes on.”
Meanwhile, the Chinese government has dispatched teams to the city to help more than 660 companies in key sectors of the economy, such as semiconductor and automobile manufacturing, restart production, according to state media.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Friday (April 15) that it would ensure the supply of medical devices and the natural flow of supply chains.
The move follows reports that parts of China’s manufacturing sector may soon have to close, at least temporarily, as companies have been unable to source essential components from Shanghai.
He Xiaopeng, chairman of electric vehicle maker XPeng, said if work doesn’t resume in Shanghai in May, all auto factories across the country may have to shut down.
China is one of the last remaining nations still committed to eradicating Covid19, in contrast to most of the world trying to live with the virus.
But pressure on this policy has increased in recent weeks with the proliferation of the Omicron variant.