After three weeks of blocking Covid, authorities have further tightened traffic restrictions in some areas and warned Shanghai’s 25 million residents that austerity measures will continue until the virus is eradicated, quarter by quarter.
In some areas, restrictions were tightened even when they met the criteria for allowing people to leave their homes.
“Our goal is to reach zero Covid community as soon as possible,” the government said, referring to the goal of eliminating transmission outside quarantine areas. “This is an important sign that we are winning this great, difficult battle against the epidemic … so that we can restore normal production and order of life.
The city government said on Friday in its official WeChat account that infections were showing a “positive trend” and that life could return to normal soon as long as people adhered to strict rules to limit the spread of Covid-19.
Shanghai locked almost all of its 25 million people in their homes in early April after infections began to rise. Residents face loss of income, family separation and difficulties in meeting basic needs.
Late Thursday, Shanghai announced a new round of “nine major” actions, including daily testing across the city on Friday, minimizing the movement of people and speeding up transfers to quarantine centers.
This week, videos were circulated on Chinese social media showing buses carrying people quarantined, sometimes outside Shanghai.
Some residents said isolation orders were issued en masse and indiscriminately in the name of speed and efficiency, without taking into account individual circumstances. City officials have urged people to co-operate with their painful measures to ensure that progress so far is not lost.
Zhang Chen, 30, told Reuters that her four-year-old son and 84-year-old grandmother had been quarantined Sunday along with her parents-in-law, and she was worried that poor conditions at the restaurant could affect their health. .
She said the food lacked nutrients – breakfast was two slices of toast; the building is dusty and only partially renovated; no showers; and too few toilets.
“They are patients, not criminals. But they seem to be criminals here and sent to suffer, “Zhang said.
The Shanghai government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Covid: in the largest makeshift hospital in Shanghai – video
The Chinese financial center reported 15,698 new local asymptomatic cases of coronavirus, down 15,861 days earlier. The new symptomatic cases amounted to 1931, compared to 2634.
There were 250 new cases outside quarantine areas, compared to 441 the day before. Particular emphasis is placed on cases outside quarantine areas, as these may be the first places where restrictions are eased if Shanghai follows the model of other quarantined cities.
Eleven people infected with Covid-19 died in Shanghai on April 21, authorities said, numbering 36 – all registered in the past five days.
But there are doubts about official fees, as many residents said a family member had died after contracting Covid-19 in early March, but the cases were not included in official statistics.
The Shanghai government did not answer questions about the death toll.
Businesses are starting to reopen, although they have to work in “closed loops”, which includes living on site, daily testing and rigorous disinfection.
Beijing last week published a list of 666 companies in Shanghai that have priority to reopen or resume operations, and the Shanghai government said Friday that 403 are doing so as of April 20, citing US carmaker Tesla as an example.
However, factories are facing reduced truck availability, broken supply chains and labor shortages and are far from resuming full production, economists say.
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