The authorities of Shanghai erected fences outside residential buildings to combat the Covid-19provoking a new public protest by a lockdown which is forcing a large part of the city’s 25 million inhabitants to stay in their homes.
Beijing’s largest district, for its part, will require everyone who lives or works in the area to undergo three Covid tests next week, and confined more than a dozen buildings, after the Chinese capital reported 22 new cases on Saturday. 3.45 million people live in Chaoyang District.
In Shanghai, images of workers in white hazmat suits sealing off the entrances to housing blocks and closing off entire streets with green fences — about two meters high — went viral on social networks. social mediaprompting questions and complaints from residents.
“This is disrespectful to the rights of the people inside, using metal barriers to lock them up like pets,” said a user on the Weibo social media platform.
One video showed residents yelling from balconies at workers trying to put up the fences. The workers gave in and took them away. Other videos showed people trying to break down the fences.
“Isn’t this a fire hazard?” asked another Weibo user.
Many fences were erected around the compounds designated as “sealed areas”, that is, buildings in which at least one person tested positive for the virus. covid-19 testwhich means that residents are prohibited from leaving.
It was unclear what prompted authorities to resort to the fences. A notice dated Saturday from a local authority shared online said a “hard quarantine” was being imposed in some areas.
Reuters was unable to verify the authenticity of the ad or all of the images, but it did see green billboards on a street in central Shanghai on Sunday.
In recent days, Reuters has also seen police in hazmat suits patrolling the streets of Shanghai, setting up roadblocks and asking pedestrians to go home.
The Shanghai government did not respond to a request for comment.