The number of cases of Shanghai Covid keeps rising, and food supply issues persist
Key Takeaways:
- About 25,000 locally transmitted Covid-19 diseases were recorded in Shanghai, as residents of China's most populous city expressed displeasure with food and necessities.
On Sunday, Shanghai reported about 25,000 locally transmitted Covid-19 illnesses, as inhabitants of China's most populated metropolis expressed dissatisfaction with the food and basic supplies, and fears circulated that more cities could be affected shortly.
The city's "zero tolerance" policy allows only healthcare workers, volunteers, delivery staff, and others with specific clearance to leave the locked-down financial metropolis of 26 million people.
Shanghai has a tiny number of cases compared to other cities worldwide, but it is in the midst of China's deadliest Covid outbreak since the virus first appeared in Wuhan in 2019. Shanghai said on Sunday that 1,006 of the local cases were symptomatic, while 23,937 were asymptomatic, which China counts separately.
To control the spread of the coronavirus, the city has become a testbed for China's elimination policy, which aims to test, track, and centrally confine all Covid-positive persons.
Food, as well as other necessities, are in short supply due to the limits. Thousands of couriers have been locked in, and many supermarkets closed. Medical care has also been a source of concern.
According to online footage, residents have been fighting with security personnel and hazmat-suited medical workers at several facilities in recent days, shouting that they need food.
Executives from JD.com, a Chinese e-commerce behemoth, and a food delivery service Ele.me, went to the city's daily briefing to persuade locals that delays would be alleviated.
Vice president Wang Wenbo of JD.com said he understood worries about delivery speed and that the company is concentrating on basic groceries and baby care products. Xiao Shuixian, senior vice president of Ele.me, claimed his company had hired 2,800 extra delivery personnel in the last week.
Citizens in several cities expressed concern in social media groups that their cities would be placed on lockdown, with photos of maps showing various motorways closed across the country being shared.
Many of the closures could result from local governments enacting their regulations.
According to the ministry, the Ministry of Transport stated that it met with other government ministries to work on standardizing highway pandemic checkpoints because local restrictions were causing bottlenecks for crucial supplies.
A video on social media purportedly showed vehicles leaving Shanghai being inspected with hand-held scanners to ensure no one was attempting to flee the city while hiding within. Reuters could not verify the validity of the footage.
After eight Covid cases had been confirmed in the last two weeks, Beijing's city administration placed a high-risk neighborhood under lockdown on Saturday, according to Pang Xinghuo, deputy head of the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
After instances were reported on Friday, Guangzhou, a southern megacity with over 18 million people, announced it would begin testing across its 11 districts on Saturday.
On Sunday, Ningbo, a major port city near Shanghai, said that all indoor dining in restaurants and hotels would be closed. Anyone who had been in confined quarters would be subjected to daily testing for three days without providing further details.
Guides from Shanghai spread on social media, recommending basic cooking equipment, seasonings, and staple dried goods like rice and pasta for residents in other cities to stock up on in case of a lockdown.