Health workers are seen next to food provided by the local government in Shanghai on Sunday. (AFP)
disappointed with shanghai harsh COVID-19 lockdownIn a new video going viral on social media, screams can be heard from his apartment. Several videos have surfaced on Twitter, Instagram and other platforms showing people fighting with local officials and warning of the consequences.
China’s largest city has been in lockdown To control the spread of infection as part of the country’s “zero COVID” policy from April 5. All 26 crore people of the city have been ordered to stay in their homes.
resident in #shanghai Screaming from high-rise apartments after 7 days straight of city lockdown. The narrator worries that there will be bigger problems. (In the Shanghainese dialect—he predicts that people cannot last long—he refers to tragedy).pic.twitter.com/jsQt6IdQNh
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) April 10, 2022
US-based Dr Eric Feigl-Ding, a well-known public health scientist, posted some of these videos from Shanghai, where he says residents of the apartment are speaking in “Shanghai”, the local dialect. He said that people would not be able to last long, which could lead to tragedy.
“Yao Ming Le” and “Yao Si” – both expressions mean “life and death”, but they literally mean “asking for death”. Narrator means if this continues it is going to hit the fan soon,” Dr Feigl-Ding said in a Twitter thread.
“Video verified by @patrickmadrid’s family. This has also been verified by my sources as normal. Also, Shanghainese is a local dialect (the hype isn’t really useful) – out of 1.3 billion Chinese, only 14 million speak it. I speak it only because I was born there,” he said in another tweet.
The health expert said China may be hitting a “breaking point” with the ba.2 version of Omicron, which is leading a surge in cases in Shanghai.
4) China may honestly be hitting the breaking point #ba2, Either it keeps on escalating with tragedies or it changes direction. See???? Below Hunger is increasing rapidly. https://t.co/1F8iN65Zg3
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) April 10, 2022
“Beyond horrifying,” said one Twitter user. “Straight out of a dystopian novel. It’ll give you the chills,” said another.
Report of China’s most populous city 25,000 locally transmitted COVID-19 infections on Sunday. Locals complained over food and basic supplies, and concerns spread that a similar situation could soon occur in more cities.
Shanghai’s case count is lower than some cities globally, but it is battling China’s worst COVID outbreak since the virus emerged in the central city of Wuhan in 2019.
The streets of Shanghai are deserted with only healthcare workers, volunteers, delivery workers or those with special permissions allowed out.