The incarceration of an elderly Shanghai woman has sparked outrage
Key Takeaways:
- The treatment of a 92-year-old Shanghai woman who was taken to quarantine late at night has provoked significant outcry in China, highlighting broad discontent with the country's severe Covid Zero laws.
- According to the administration, the two were transferred to a quarantine centre at 3 a.m. on Tuesday, where they were assigned beds and given daily requirements.
The treatment of a 92-year-old Shanghai lady brought to quarantine late at night has sparked outrage in China, highlighting widespread dissatisfaction with the country's draconian Covid Zero regulations.
When no one responded to their knocking, police and local officials had a locksmith force open the lady and her son's apartment door at 2 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the local government's official social media account. According to them, they acted because they were afraid of "an accident," and the couple "voluntarily went downstairs" to leave for an isolation facility.
According to Caixin Global, the mother and her kid later spent hours sitting in a hallway since the quarantine facility to which they were taken was out of beds.
According to the administration, the two were taken to a quarantine center around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, where they were allocated beds and given daily requirements. They were also given a quick health check by quarantine staff. The authorities withheld the names of those involved.
The incident sparked widespread discussion on China's internet on Wednesday, with roughly 27 million views on a hashtag for the government's response.
Many people were perplexed as to why anyone, let alone an elderly woman, would be brought to quarantine at such a late hour. The official explanation was described as "laughable" by one person.
Approximately two-thirds of the city's 25 million citizens are still under lockdown, which began approximately three weeks ago and has frazzled emotions. Food, medical treatment, and knowledge of how the ordeal will end have been difficult.
Residents of China's most cosmopolitan city, home to the country's largest stock exchange and major financial institutions, have clashed with police over the opening of isolation centers near them.
The government has censored videos of protests that have broken out in residential compounds. The US consulate ordered all non-essential workers to leave China during the lockout, creating a schism between Beijing and Washington.
Shanghai has hurried to construct isolation units and makeshift hospitals for hundreds of thousands of patients. Exhibition halls, indoor stadiums, and schools have been turned into quarantine facilities, and premium hotels have been ordered to hand over rooms. Facilities in the nearby provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu were also being created to accommodate up to 60,000 people from Shanghai.