Shanghai tightens Covid lockdown, Beijing keeps testing
SHANGHAI/BEIJING: Shanghai authorities were tightening the city-wide Covid lockdown they imposed more than a month ago, prolonging into late May an ordeal that China’s capital Beijing was desperate to avoid by turning mass testing into an almost daily routine.
The commercial hub of 25 million was making a fresh push to bring case numbers outside the areas that were facing the strictest curbs to zero by the second half of May, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The people said movement curbs will generally remain through the month due to fears of a rebound even though case numbers have been falling. Authorities in some districts issued notices ordering people back into their residential compounds after having let them out for brief walks or quick shopping.
In a video shared widely on Chinese social media, police in hazmat suits argue with residents who were told they needed to be quarantined after a neighbour tested positive.
“This is so that we can thoroughly remove any positive cases,” one of the officers is heard saying. “Stop asking me why, there is no why. We have to adhere to national guidelines.”
Reuters was not able to independently verify the video.
The Shanghai government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The prolonged isolation and fear of being sent to quarantine centres, which sometimes lack showers and other basic conditions, have caused widespread frustration, even altercations.
Videos posted online last week showed dozens of workers at Apple and Tesla supplier Quanta overwhelming hazmatsuited security guards and vaulting over factory gates to escape being trapped inside amid Covid rumours.
A psychological toll
Strict Covid restrictions in Beijing, Shanghai and dozens of other major cities across China are taking a psychological toll on its people, weighing on the world’s second-largest economy and disrupting global supply chains and international trade.
Beijing has closed gyms and entertainment venues, banned dine-in services at restaurants and shut scores of bus routes and almost 15% of its sprawling subway system, while many residents voluntarily avoid going out.
Businesses that remained open were not seeing many clients as people did not want to do anything that might bring them near infected people and force them into quarantine.
On Sunday, residents lined up for another round of tests in Beijing’s Chaoyang, Fangshan and Fengtai districts and small parts of others. Many residents, even if not subject to the mass tests, still must show a recent negative result to get to work or enter various venues.
Job Support
Premier Li Keqiang in a teleconference with other top officials pledged on Saturday to support “as many employers as possible,” especially among small and midsize firms, to keep people in their jobs, state media reported.
Despite the costs, Chinese authorities are unwavering in their commitment to stamp out the coronavirus.