Strict rules still apply
Authorities want to relax lockdown in Shanghai
4/11/2022, 5:59 p.m
Around 40 percent of Shanghai residents are allowed to go outside again to shop. In parts of the city where there have been no new infections within 14 days, the authorities want to lift the strict lockdown. However, what specifically applies there is not clear in some cases. The number of new infections remains very high.
Under increasing pressure from their strict anti-Covid measures, authorities in Shanghai have announced an easing of the lockdown. The authorities said that residents in the districts with the lowest number of corona infections are gradually being allowed to leave their homes again. The details initially remained vague.
According to government representative Gu Honghui, the districts are to be divided into three different levels according to the number of infections. “Differentiated prevention and control measures” would thus reflect the “actual circumstances” on site, he said. In the residential areas where no new cases have occurred in the past 14 days, residents are allowed to go outside again.
These include 7565 residential complexes – a good 40 percent of the total number mentioned. In addition, 2460 “controlled areas” were identified in which no infections had been detected in the past seven days. There is therefore no relaxation for 7,624 “closed neighborhoods” that have had infections in the past seven days. Residents have to stay in their homes there.
Residents are looking for up-to-date information
Confused residents of the mega-metropolis tried to find out from their neighborhood committees what the announcement means to them in concrete terms. In a district in the south of the city, which should therefore fall into the lowest category, they were told that they could now go out of their homes once a day to shop.
According to the state news agency Xinhua, residents of residential areas without new cases of infection are “in principle” now allowed to move freely within their district. However, there are “strict restrictions” on meetings.
China is struggling with the worst wave of infections since the pandemic began. On Monday, the authorities reported over 27,509 new infections nationwide – by far the most of them were registered in Shanghai. The day before, Shanghai alone had 26,000 cases – and thus a new high. The majority of cases are asymptomatic.
China sticks to zero-Covid strategy
At the same time, China is one of the last countries in the world to stick to a so-called zero-Covid strategy: strict lockdowns and mass testing are intended to prevent any contagion. Accordingly, Shanghai has been completely or partially sealed off for two weeks. About 25 million people have been ordered to stay at home. Tens of thousands were taken to quarantine centers.
The strict rules and their consequences increasingly caused dissatisfaction among the population, who vented their anger at the food shortages and strict controls in the online networks. The US State Department warned against traveling to Shanghai because of the strict corona restrictions. The easing announced on Monday is apparently aimed at taking the edge off the anger at the local authorities’ Corona policy.