China’s harsh approach to Covid is forcing residents of Shanghai to deal with extreme lockdowns. Many are speaking out online in frustration.

From Manila Standard. Shanghai further eased its weeks-long Covid-19 lockdown on Wednesday despite mounting deaths and tens of thousands of new cases — but some residents are furious that uneven enforcement is still leaving them trapped at home….

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Faced with the country’s worst virus outbreak in two years, Shanghai has confined most of its 25 million people to their homes since last month, doubling down on the Communist Party’s unrelenting zero-Covid approach.

But the surge, driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant, has thwarted official efforts to avert a pandemic rebound, with more than 400,000 infections reported since March.

City authorities confirmed seven Covid-19 deaths and more than 18,000 mostly asymptomatic new cases on Wednesday, while also announcing four million more people had been released from the strictest version of lockdown….

Another Shanghai resident wrote on the Twitter-like Weibo platform that she was “secretly delighted” that authorities had declared “zero Covid at the community level” in her district Wednesday morning.

“Shortly after, I heard a loud commotion downstairs — two construction workers were reinforcing barriers in front of my compound gate after 20 days of being locked down.”

One Weibo user wrote of her jealousy at seeing a neighbour walking their dog on the street.

“She self-righteously said she lives in a precautionary area, then arrogantly walked away,” she wrote.

“I live in a precautionary area too! Why can’t I go out?”

– Unrelenting approach –

While Shanghai’s outbreak remains small compared with other parts of the world, it has strained China’s virus strategy and prompted rare glimpses of discontent usually wiped away by censorship.

On social media, residents have vented about tight movement restrictions, multiple rounds of mass testing and lack of access to food and non-Covid medical care.

Beijing insists its unrelenting Covid approach has averted fatalities and the public health crises seen in other parts of the world….

The shuttering of economic engine Shanghai and lockdowns elsewhere have taken a heavy toll on the world’s second-biggest economy, clogging supply chains and forcing businesses to halt production….

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(Excerpt from Manila Standard. Photo Credit: Joshua Fernandez on Unsplash)