The holidays have left some employees sleeping in the office to continue working despite lockdowns, while others have been unable to seek medical help for elderly parents for non-Covid-related illnesses. The lockdowns have culminated in Shanghai, the last city to be sealed and China’s largest with a population of 26 million, as authorities implement a two-stage plan to isolate everyone and conduct mass tests. Shanghai is also China’s most important economic hub. Along with the recent wave of lockdowns, there could be a significant impact on the development of the world’s second largest economy, which has already weakened under the pressure of the pandemic. On Wednesday, China reported 1,629 new cases, bringing the total nationwide to 28,163, according to the National Health Commission. Chinese human rights lawyers have also expressed concern that the Covid zero response violates fundamental human rights. Lawyers are barred from meeting clients when cities have cases and are in lockdown. “Video conferencing is not even allowed in some places. even if some are allowed, we can not make an appointment for at least a month. “In this sense, it increases the likelihood that our clients will be mistreated in detention centers, as lawyers like us can not get in touch with them,” said a Beijing lawyer.
