As officials wrestle with China’s worst COVID outbreak since the pandemic began, authorities in its most populous city, Shanghai, have put in place a plan to end infections outside quarantine zones by the end of May. A new push has started, people familiar with the matter said.
While there has been no official announcement, over the weekend some residents in at least four of its 16 districts received notices saying they were no longer leaving their homes or receiving deliveries as part of an effort to bring community transmission down to zero. were not able to.
“Go home, go home!” On Sunday, a woman shouted via megaphone at residents living under apartment towers in one of those complexes.
Two residents in Yangpu, the fifth district, said they had been informed of similar measures and would stop groceries in their neighborhoods as part of the effort.
Public anger was fueled by online accounts of officials forcing neighbors of positive cases into centralized quarantine and demanding that they hand over the keys to their homes to be disinfected, which legal experts called illegal.
A video showed police breaking the lock after a resident refused to open the door.
In another example, a voice recording of a call circulated over the Internet of a woman arguing with authorities is demanding she spray disinfectant in her home even though she has tested negative.
Professor Tong Zhiwei, who teaches law at the East China University of Political Science and Law, wrote in an essay widely circulated on social media on Sunday that such acts were illegal and should be stopped.
“Shanghai should set a good example for the whole country on how to carry out COVID prevention work in a scientific and legitimate way,” Tong wrote.
Such measures should be taken only in the event of an emergency, he said in the essay, in which he said more than 20 academics had provided input.
Liu Dali, a lawyer for one of China’s largest law firms, wrote a similar letter to the authorities.
Copies of both letters have been censored from the Chinese Internet, although users have reposted screenshots. Posts on Tong’s social media account on the Weibo site were blocked late Sunday night.
Liu and Tong did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
China is adamant that it will stick to its zero-COVID policy to fight the disease that first emerged in the city of Wuhan in late 2019, despite the rising toll on its economy.
Officials have warned against criticism of a policy they say is saving lives.
They point to much higher mortality rates in other countries that have eased restrictions, or removed them altogether, “to live with”. covid“Even if the infection is spreading.
“We must insist on regulating the flow and controlling the movement of people,” the Shanghai municipal government said in response to Reuters questions on the latest restrictions.
It said a “one-size-fits-all” approach should be avoided and each district was allowed to tighten measures according to its situation.
Shanghai on Monday reported a decline in new cases for the 10th consecutive day.
sudden lockdown
In Beijing, residents of its worst-hit areas were told to work from home, while more streets, compounds and parks were closed on Monday as the city of 22 million grapples with its worst outbreak since 2020. was battling.
More bus routes were suspended as more rounds of testing were conducted in a handful of districts, including Chaoyang and Fangshan, both described by municipal officials as a “priority priority” in the city’s anti-epidemic task. did.
Beijing on Monday reported 49 new locally transmitted cases for May 8, taking its tally of infections since April 22 to more than 760.
Beijing is hoping to avoid the weeks of lockdown that Shanghai has endured, but a growing number of residential buildings under lockdown orders are haunting residents.
“I just rented an apartment in this complex, and I didn’t get any notices,” Wang, 28, a resident of Changping district in northern Beijing, said on Monday after being barred from leaving her compound.
“I’m already working from home, but I’m worried I might run out of daily supplies.”
Residents received a notice later on Monday morning that positive cases have been detected in the area.
A nanny living in the same campus said that the lockdown meant she was not able to find a new job.
“Today is my first day on the job and now I can’t go out,” said the 40-year-old, who gave her name as Meizi.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.