After 20 days of isolation, Mrs. Rui was finally able to go outside. But Shanghai remains a private city with the appearance of a ghost town. The economic capital Chinese facing the worst outbreak in COVID-19 registered in the country since the start of the pandemic. More than 17,000 new positive cases in coronavirus were re-announced there on Friday – a figure that is falling, however.
placed under constraint in all, since the beginning of April, Shanghai’s 25 million residents, occasionally and only part of them, have been able to spend a few hours getting a taste of a little freedom. But Mrs. Rui’s short walk through the city streets had a surreal side, between deserted streets, sometimes barricaded shop windows and even set up a hair salon… In an empty swimming pool.
Quarantine Centers
A few convenience stores near her home have reopened, but they’re blocking their entrances with piles of shopping baskets, forcing customers to “shout their order from the sidewalk,” explains this communications officer for an online sales company. “The period that has just ended was very difficult for everyone,” she emphasizes about the past three weeks.
Because in addition to the incarceration, the people of Shanghai, if they are tested positive, sent to treatment centers quarantine with arbitrary comforts, each harboring hundreds or even thousands of people in promiscuity.
Crumbs of freedom
But with the number of new daily cases falling, the town hall is beginning to allow some residents to leave their homes and factories to resume activity. The municipality has published a list of areas where: lockdowns have been relaxed†
In the past two weeks, 12 million people have been told they can now go down the stairs of their building, or even onto the street – depending on the level of risk in their neighborhood related to Covid-19. But the enthusiasm aroused by this newfound freedom was quickly tempered.
“That’s Not Bad”
Because in practice, a tangle of restrictions continues to restrict movement and many parts of the city are at risk of returning to strict confinement. Videos posted by Shanghainese who have been able to leave their homes in recent days show that the tree-lined avenues are virtually deserted.
Landscapes of tranquility occasionally disturbed by a delivery man on a scooter or a cop in a full protective suit. “I can’t leave my neighborhood, but it’s not bad enough,” wrote one user of the social network Xiaohongshu.
Change zones and rules
By police officers placed at intersections, but check that people outside are coming from a low-risk neighborhood. The situation differs from district to district. In some areas, despite the town hall’s assurances of freedom of movement, residents are limited to a single daily walk.
Others are still confined to their apartments, despite living in low-risk areas. For Dan, an American living in the Jing’an district, this ambiguity is “really infuriating.” The authorities “publish these lists” [des zones où les confinements sont assouplis] can say it’s getting better. But while they are limiting and contradicting the policies they have put in place themselves,” he laments.
