As the lockdown in Shanghai drags into a grueling fourth week, residents now find themselves trapped behind metal fences, according to photos posted to Weibo.
Government workers and volunteers reportedly installed green metal barriers — about 2 meters (about 6.5 ft) high — in several boroughs over the weekend, blocking small streets and entrances to apartment buildings.
The move, which authorities are calling a “hard quarantine,” is in line with China’s zero-COVID policy, the efficiency of which has been questioned as omicron cases continue to rise in the city.
“Every compound, every gate, every door must be strictly controlled,” Qi Keping, deputy head of Yangpu, a business district in northeast Shanghai, told reporters.
On Sunday, Shanghai reported 51 deaths – the highest daily number so far – and 2,472 symptomatic cases, up from 1,401 on Saturday.
Photos and video footage of residents making requests have gone viral on social media.
“No one can get out,” a foreigner whose gated community was gated told the BBC. “I feel helpless. They don’t know when the lockdown will end.”
Zhong Hongjun, a professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, regrets supporting the government’s zero-COVID policy. He now calls the measures “inhuman”.
“I always thought Shanghai would never sink that low,” Zhong wrote on Weibo. “I was too naive and stupid.”
Meanwhile, Beijing is now facing its own COVID-19 outbreak in Chaoyang District, where authorities on Sunday ordered residents to undergo three tests this week.
The announcement sparked panic buying in the Chinese capital, with shoppers stocking up on instant noodles, vegetables, toiletries and other essentials.
“Shanghai was a lesson,” Di, 63, who bought vegetables for up to 10 days, told Reuters.
Earlier this month, an online poll of nearly 1,000 Shanghai expat residents revealed that 85% of them are considering leaving China due to its lockdown policies.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Alex Duncan, a startup founder, told Al Jazeera. “Enormous exodus has increased since the beginning of COVID. But this lockdown forced those who had been considering leaving to make a final decision.”
Featured image via Weibo
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