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COVID – Confinement hits Shanghainese system. Facing the worst wave of Covid in China Shanghai, the economic capital of the country, has been in full or partial confinement for two weeks since the epidemic began. Under very strict sanitary measuresthe 25 million Shanghainese are forced to stay at home.
And the least we can say is that this forced confinement and very, very strict, pushes the inhabitants of the capital to their limits. In a video taken by one of them and released on Saturday, April 9, dozens if not hundreds of people can be heard screaming in frustration and exhaustion from their windows. A way to relieve the pressure, certainly but also their only way to challenge the restrictions†
What the?? This video was taken yesterday in Shanghai, China, by the father of a good friend of mine. She verified its authenticity: people are screaming from their windows after a week of total lockdown, without leaving your apartment for any reason. pic.twitter.com/iHGOO8D8Cz
— Patrick Madrid ✌🏼 (@patrickmadrid) Apr 9, 2022
“This video was taken yesterday in Shanghai, China, by the father of one of my good friends. She has verified its authenticity: people are screaming out the window after a week of total confinement, do not leave your apartment for any reason,” the radio host writes in the legend. The video has also been verified by France Inter†
“At first some people screamed, but suddenly everyone started screaming. Because all these people do not know how long this confinement will last and why the measure has been decided. There is no explanation. We are locked up for 7 days. Not only are we not allowed to leave the residence, but not even our apartments. It’s not okay, if it takes a long time, there will be problems,” says the man behind the camera.
Because the restrictions are such that residents are not even allowed to go out to buy food and more and more people are left with an empty refrigerator. Most supermarkets are closed and many delivery people are unable to work.
Separating positive children from their parents
The Chinese authorities continue to defend their “zero Covid” strategy, with incarcerations as soon as some cases arise. In Shanghai, for a time, they enacted a very controversial policy that consisted of: separating coronavirus positive children from their parents tested negative, which softened them in the face of criticism.
China is pursuing a policy of rapid containment, mass testing and travel restrictions to curb the spread of the virus. Shanghai, under the effect of a wave fueled by the Omicron variant, reported a record 24,943 new infections on Sunday, April 10, most of them asymptomatic, representing more than 90% of the national total.
Authorities have prepared tens of thousands of new beds in more than 100 makeshift hospitals as part of a policy to isolate anyone who tests positive for the virus, whether or not they show symptoms. Many residents are annoyed by the restrictions and are expressing their anger via social media about food shortages and drastic measures to contain the outbreak.
Relaxations announced to calm discontent
This Monday morning, faced with the rise of protest, the local government announced measures that are likely to be relaxed. It will gradually move residents of the least polluted areas outside their neighborhoods, although it is unknown how many people will be able to leave their homes and when.
Shanghai officials will determine three categories of neighborhoods based on incidence. “Differentiated prevention and control measures” will reflect the “real” situation on the ground, city official Gu Honghui said Monday. Residents of “strict control” and “controlled areas” are confined to their homes. Residents of neighborhoods where no cases have been detected in the past two weeks are allowed to leave their homes.
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