Shanghai also separates negative cases

Negative and forced detention: Despite control and serious anti-Kovid measures in Shanghai, even healthy residents remain in solitary confinement to prevent infection.

China, which has largely escaped for two years, has suffered its worst epidemic since the spring of 2020 in recent weeks.

In the metropolitan area of ​​Shanghai, so far the most affected and 25 million residents have been detained for a month, even if someone tested positive, those without symptoms are sent to a mass detention center – with variable convenience and cleanliness. .

Residents will be put on buses at midnight to evacuate. Many residents are outraged by these isolation reactions. Negative testing in particular does not have to be synonymous with peace of mind.

Many people who tested negative said they had to leave their homes to isolate themselves outside of Shanghai. A few hundred km to the city.

“We have no choice,” Lucy said, preferring to keep her last name quiet for fear of retaliation.

“Police told us there were a lot of positive cases in our residence.”

According to police, staying means being at risk of contracting the disease.

And ultimately to raise the official toll as China is following the Zero COVID policy. Shanghai recorded 7,137 new positive cases on Monday, a slight decrease in 24 hours.

Displaced with her neighbors at midnight, Lucy was sent to a temporary detention center in the eastern province of Anhui, more than 400 kilometers from her home.

This resident does not know when she will return home.

His misfortune was far from an isolated case. The AFP was also able to speak with other Shanghai nationals who were sent to solitary confinement in other provinces.

A resident of Jingan District, famous for its unnamed temple and sophisticated cafes, testified about the anonymous situation.

At her residence, she said, “everyone got a call” to have negative cases leave their homes.

The positive cases were “transferred to hotels (there) to be alone”, the resident said, adding that she was also at the center of a “frightening” quarantine center in Anhui.

In summary, colleagues “lost full confidence in the Shanghai authorities” over the misfortune of her residence, she said.

Another resident interviewed by the AFP assured that the strong opposition of his neighbors did not in any way prevent the authorities from detaining him outside of Shanghai.

The controversial action reflects the “strong pressure” of authority on local authorities to achieve zero cases, said Yanjong Huang, a health issues expert at the Council on Foreign Relations in the United States.

Once the outbreak is seen, civil servants are regularly fired for alleged violations.

To protect themselves from such a grant, some officials have been tempted to resort to “excessive measures”, Mr. Huang mentioned.

Moving negative patients is also a matter of “prevention,” with officials predicting an increase in pollution cases within a given perimeter.

Tens of thousands of contact cases have been placed in solitary confinement in the provinces bordering Shanghai, according to the official New China Agency.

However, the media did not mention the negative cases.

Shanghai City Hall did not respond to requests for comment from AFP.