Zero COVID in Shanghai, but detention continues

“Zero Kovid”: Shanghai indicated on Tuesday that it had overcome the coronavirus (excluding quarantine establishments), a statement quickly mocked on the Internet because it was confined to a majority of 25 million residents.

Also read: Termination of COVID premiums: as low as $ 1,800 per nurse per month

Also read: COVID-19: Six new “fever” deaths in North Korea

China has been experiencing its worst outbreak since the outbreak began. It is also the last major planetary economy to be isolated from the rest of the world with anti-Kovid constraints.

To deal with this wave of the lethal omicron variant for many elderly people who have not been vaccinated, Shanghai, the most affected city, detained all residents in early April.

But the difficulties of access to the latest products and non-Kovid health care provoked serious dissatisfaction and in some cases even clashes with the authorities.

“16 districts in Shanghai have reached Zero Kovid in the community,” Zhao Dandan, vice director of municipal health services, announced Tuesday.

Apparently, nearly 1,000 new cases have been discovered in the last 24 hours, all found in quarantine establishments and not in the general population.

Officials announced Sunday that they would be resuming businesses “in stages” from this week, but did not specify the scope.

According to the town hall, only 3.8 million residents are still being held in strict detention, such as being barred from leaving their apartment or apartment complex.

One person who provokes the mistrust of many internet users, convinced that most people are actually limited.

New sub variant

“Are the authorities talking about Shanghai of the parallel universe?” Written by a user of the social network Weibo in line with the general tone of the comments.

However, in some areas sanctions have actually been relaxed.

Chinese media on Tuesday released footage of people queuing outside one of Shanghai’s major railway stations as trains resume services from the city.

Several airlines resumed domestic flights from Shanghai this week after stopping them during the spread.

However, residents can leave the metropolis only with special authority and several Kovid tests.

Despite the economic cost to businesses, tourism, car sales and the consequences on the unemployment rate, China has not been willing to relax its Kovid control policy.

Thanks to the Zero Kovid strategy, the country has been living almost normally since 2020, with huge screenings in particular, sanctions imposed on infected people and some cases being detained as soon as they appear.

Especially since health officials announced Monday that the first case had been identified due to a BA.2.12.1 sub-variant. Especially known as the epidemic, especially widespread in the United States, it was found on a traveler from Kenya.

The capital, Beijing, tests most of its 22 million inhabitants every day, and they still fear harsh detention in “La Shanghai”.

The city has only announced a few dozen new daily cases, but has already closed restaurants, bars, gyms, parks or sports halls and imposed telework.