The eastern Chinese metropolis of Shanghai continues its strict confinement at the mercy of the policy of ‘zero covid’, despite the exhaustion of its residents, while the official press insists that you can beat omicron and social networks silence the voices most critical of the restrictions.
the drip of infections It continues to rise in the city, with 1,189 positives and more than 20,000 asymptomatic infections (Beijing does not count them as confirmed cases unless they show symptoms).
(See: Under what conditions does the EU accept a vaccination certificate from Colombia?).
To deal with the largest outbreak recorded in China (with more than 20,000 active cases and more than 200,000 asymptomatic spread over several provinces) since the pandemic began, the authorities have pulled from their usual script, which implies strong restrictions on mobility, the borders closed to the outside and the confinement of entire cities, as in the case of Shanghai.
The restrictions in this city, the richest in China and home to 26 million people, They officially began on March 28, although by then there were already residential buildings that had been completely isolated from the outside for weeks.
Despite the exhaustion of the residents, who have denounced food shortage or directly fearful of the possibility of ending up in isolation centers where hygiene is conspicuous by its absence, the authorities remain inflexible in their strategy, and that the wave has resulted in only two deaths so far.
EDITORIALS AND MEGAPHONES
China fears that opening its hand will mean a sharp increase in the number of deaths (it is concerned that many over 60 have not received the third dose of the vaccine), which has now translated into a propaganda offensive in favor of ‘zero covid’.
“There was already criticism from the West when the delta variant of the coronavirus began to spread last year. They are like a broken record. We have already seen the great failure of the United States and Europe to contain the pandemic. Either they are ignorant or have ulterior motives. Yes, the situation in Shanghai is serious, but other Chinese cities have already suffered omicron outbreaks and pulled through“, dispatched the state newspaper ChinaDaily in an editorial.
(See: In Shanghai they would be sacrificing animals to mitigate cases of covid).
The official slogan is that “can you beat omicron” if it is controlled in time, depending on the medium, and gives as examples the “early intervention” held in the cities of Shenzhen, Qingdao or Tianjin, something that of Canton try to replicate now (confirmed 22 new cases) with several rounds of tests and the closure of subway stops and residential buildings.
In the case of Shanghai, where the virus has already spread among the population, the newspaper defends that “lockdown is necessary” and assures that giving up is not an option: “We have tools to prevent thousands of deaths. It would be immoral for someone to ask to sacrifice human lives at the expense of (economic) profit“.
But not only the official press lives the communist regime, which has also resorted to prevention workers, clad in their PPE suits, protective clothing), patrolling the city with megaphone in hand to send back home whoever skips the lockdown.
In Shanghai there have also been some dramatic scenes, such as the one starring a police officer who, refusing to provide evidence, wanted to take a couple to one of the feared isolation centers for allegedly testing positive in one of the multiple tests that are carried out. out in town, pick up the diary South China Morning Post.
Loneliness on the streets of Shanghai.
“You are positive if I say so“, the agent asserted, according to a conversation recording that went viral on the internet.
(See: WHO monitors three new mutations of covid-19: XD, XF and XE).
The municipal government announced that it will launch an investigation to clarify the facts, and also issued an apology about its management on the Chinese social network Weibo, similar to Twitter, in which the most critical comments from Internet users were deleted.
Most of them expressed their disappointment With officials, they complained about the difficulty of buying food or expressed doubts about the feasibility of isolating the tens of thousands of people who have tested positive in quarantine centers or hospitals.
The central administration expects the local authorities to put curb to the wave, and as Shanghai endures its worst week of lockdown to date, Chinese President, Xi Jinping, is on an inspection tour of the island province of Hainan, where he has advised Communist Party members to do everything possible to “ensure that people’s lives improve every day“.
(See: Over 75 years, the biggest fatalities of omicron).
The prime minister, Li Keqiang, did the same in the province of Jiangxi, in the east of the country, from where he asked “efforts to stabilize the economy in an adequate range” Y “remain alert to downward pressures“, in apparent reference to the outbreaks that threaten to paralyze the country.
EFE
