Dozens of people demonstrated in a district of Shenzhen in China against a new confinement announced after the discovery of a few cases of Covid-19, according to images broadcast on social networks verified by AFP.
This megalopolis of more than 18 million inhabitants located in southern China reported 10 new contaminations on Tuesday, prompting the authorities, under pressure a few weeks before the important Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing, to react to avoid a surge in cases.
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AFP-verified videos circulating on China’s Weibo and Instagram sites show dozens of people shouting “Lift the containment“, under the gaze of rows of police in blue medical uniforms, in the district of Shawei, close to the seat of the local government. Shawei Subway Station was closed until further notice from 10 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Monday.in the context of the prevention and control of the pandemic“, announced by press release the operator of the metro of the city. The inhabitants of 14 “high risk areasspread over three districts were forced to confine themselves to their homes from Tuesday, health authorities said, without specifying the number of people affected.
In fifteen other neighborhoods considered to be at moderate risk, residents are only allowed to move around inside their residences. Shenzhen, a sprawling technological center neighboring Hong Kong, had just eased its health restrictions imposed for several weeks, after schools and entertainment venues closed in early September. Residents can only use public transport, enter a restaurant or access public services, including hospitals, with a negative PCR test that is less than 24 hours old.
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China is the only major economy to maintain a “zero covid“, using targeted and time-limited confinements, long quarantines and mass testing. These measures weigh on its economy. Earlier this year, a two-month lockdown instituted in Shanghai, one of the most populous cities on the planet with more than 25 million people, was marred by food shortages, deaths from lack of access to medical care and scattered demonstrations. More than 80,000 tourists were also stranded in the seaside resort of Sanya in August due to a wave of Covid. Many people took to the streets, asking to be received by local leaders to air their grievances.