Until this week, the big city – also China’s most populous – has adopted a gradual lockdown approach. Initially, the east side of the Huangpu River entered a lockdown between March 28 and April 1, then the west side followed suit for another four days. But this approach did not work as the number of cases continued to rise. On Monday, the number of new daily positive cases exceeded 10,000 for the first time. More than 73,000 positive cases have been reported since March, the Shanghai government said. These numbers are small compared to countries like the US and the UK, but they are some of the largest since Covid was first reported in China in late 2019. At least 38,000 medical personnel have been deployed in Shanghai from other parts of China. State media reported that the operation was the largest since Wuhan’s lockdown in early 2020. “Currently, preventing and controlling the epidemic in Shanghai is at its most difficult and critical stage,” said Wu Qianyu, an official with the Municipal Health Committee. “We must adhere to the general policy of dynamic liquidation without hesitation, without hesitation.” To achieve a “dynamic cleanup”, the government allocated its resources to test all residents of the city on Monday. About 20,000 sample collection points were set up across the city and 50,000 doctors were sent to help control the population, state media reported. Drone footage shows deserted Shanghai as the city remains in lockdown – video On Monday, authorities announced that further restrictions would be placed on transport links. This means that more pipe lines will be suspended. On Tuesday, 30 major hospitals across the city were shut down, according to the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission website. However, as mainland China’s major economic hub has stopped, citizens are protesting the government’s lack of organization and preparation. Some residents reported difficulty in ordering food and water online, while others said they could not access critical medical resources when needed. “I can not buy food. I have nothing left in my fridge. My neighborhood is sealed. “I do not know what to do,” said a resident on Weibo, a social networking site. Another wrote: “Our 90-year-old has diabetes. Prior to the lockdown, our doctor prescribed some medications for home use because all the nurses were asked to help with the Covid tests. Suddenly, Pudong closed and we could not take the medicine at all. “Then we bought it online, but the delivery company could not send it to us because they do not deliver anything now.” In recent days, numerous cell phone footage showing residents complaining about confusing lockdown messages and not being able to buy daily necessities has been circulating on the internet. In one video, several residents of an apartment building shouted, “We want to eat, we want to go to work, we want to have the right to know.” The material has been removed from censorship. The sense of confusion, chaos and helplessness is overwhelming in a city that until recent weeks has been a success story for Covid. “[A] “Lack of communication with the public and psychological preparations continue to drive an effective response to the pandemic,” said Chen Xi, a public health specialist at Yale School of Public Health. According to current Chinese protocols, those who test positive should be quarantined at a central facility. However, Chen said that given the current situation, the authorities should allow some people – for example, infected people with no symptoms or mild symptoms – to be quarantined at home in order to free up resources.
