Is the health situation in Shanghai spiraling out of control despite strict lockdown? This Monday, the authorities announce the death due to Covid-19 of three inhabitants of the largest city in China, a first since the entry into force at the end of March of an extremely severe confinement which arouses great tensions. The three victims are aged 89 to 91 and suffered, according to the town hall, from underlying diseases.
In recent weeks, hundreds of thousands of people had tested positive and the absence of deaths in the official reports had continued to fuel suspicion, especially in view of the low vaccination rate among seniors – a very exposed population. The two previous deaths announced in China had been in mid-March in Jilin province, bordering North Korea. They were the first for over a year.
China has only reported 4,641 deaths officially linked to the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, an extremely low figure given the number of inhabitants of the most populous country in the world (1.4 billion inhabitants). Its health success is attributed to its zero Covid strategy: confinements as soon as cases appear, isolation of people who test positive, visas issued in dribs and drabs, quarantine on arrival in the territory or even tracing of movements.
Quarantine centers with haphazard hygiene
Despite these efforts, the situation deteriorated sharply in Shanghai during the month of March. This Monday, some 22,248 new cases – almost 90% asymptomatic – were reported by the municipal health service. Low compared to the rest of the world, these figures are very high for China and have prompted the authorities to put in place drastic health restrictions, starting with exit bans and the closure of public places.
From one end of the metropolis to the other, these measures have angered Shanghai residents. Many of them have told on social networks about their difficulties in obtaining supplies of fresh produce, in particular due to the lack of people to deliver the goods. Others also fear being sent to quarantine centers, with haphazard hygiene, where people who test positive, even asymptomatic, are sent to be isolated. For lack of space, the authorities have in some cases requisitioned private homes to place these people there, which last week caused clashes between police and residents.
For the moment, no easing is planned. The Ministry of Health stresses that too much relaxation of restrictions would risk overwhelming the health system and causing millions of deaths, in particular because the vaccination rate remains low among the elderly: only a little more than half of the over 80 year old received a booster dose. Under pressure, the local authorities nevertheless gave in on a very controversial measure: that which consisted in separating children positive for the coronavirus from their parents who tested negative.