Corona lockdown in Shanghai: “We just want to survive”

Empty streets, people locked in, poor care: there is no sign of the relaxation of the corona virus in Shanghai – on the contrary. The tension mounts. Residents desperately call for food.

People are shouting from their windows, using pots and pans to protest. These are scenes from last weekend in the Huangpu district of Shanghai, right in the center of the international metropolis. They are hungry.

Some of the food they receive from the government has rotted, a family says ARD radio. A man from another area in east Shanghai says:

There is no freedom of the press or freedom of expression in China. For reasons of protection, we do not mention the names of our interlocutors in this article with voices critical of the government.

Groceries: Expensive and only online

Most people are currently trying to order overpriced groceries online. But there are still too few suppliers who work under the tough conditions on the closed roads. Most things are sold out. Minimum orders are high, so neighbors get together to place group orders.

After such a long lockdown, they don’t care about the high prices, says one woman. “We just want to survive this. But when this is over, I think that we residents of Shanghai should all unite and sue the government for all the suffering of our elderly and our children.” They would then have to apologize for their mistakes.

situation more and more tense

In recent days, the authorities have erected high green fences on some streets in Shanghai and in front of some residential buildings. Contrary to the announced easing, the situation continues to tighten. Apart from the helpers in white protective suits and the police, the streets are largely empty. A man says in an interview:

With each additional case in the house, the lockdown for the residents is extended by 14 days. In Shanghai, people live in very small spaces. As many people live in a block of flats with several high-rise buildings as in a small German town.

Fear of isolation centers

The virus is spreading: still almost 20,000 cases daily. People are afraid of having to go to a state isolation facility.

In these mass accommodations, beds are close together, they are field beds, sometimes even wooden bunks. Those affected report that they do not even receive antipyretics or other medical care. Even children, infants and elderly people in wheelchairs who test positive have to go there.

A man tells us that children had to walk 50 kilometers to get home alone after being released from isolation. He feels humanity has fallen by the wayside with the obsessive implementation of the dynamic zero-Covid policy.

Another man says:

Poor emergency care

Many people worry about sick relatives. Not just because of Covid-19. According to official city figures, 138 people have died in connection with the corona virus in the past week. But even before these deaths were reported, people were already dying in Shanghai during the lockdown: cancer patients, dialysis patients and asthmatics, for example, because they could not get medical care.

In the first few weeks of the lockdown, emergency rooms were closed and medical staff were involved in mass testing and the fight against the pandemic. There are now special permits for the seriously ill and emergencies, so they can leave their homes to go to the hospital.

But even the question of how to get there in a locked down city with no public transport and very few overpriced taxis brings with it a lot of uncertainty. People in Shanghai are also increasingly reporting that neighbors have taken their own lives out of desperation.

Not a word in the state media – hence “Shanghai 404”

The Chinese state media does not report on the abuses in Shanghai. Many people in other parts of the country outside of Shanghai only get a glimpse of what is happening in the 25 million financial metropolis. What is leaking out is now leading to panic buying in the capital, Beijing, after a smaller outbreak was reported in one district.

The people of Shanghai are looking for their voice. They post pictures and videos on social networks – again and again. Especially the video “Sound of April”. “The Voices of April” is a compilation of phone calls, impressions and recorded conversations over the past few weeks and was repeatedly shared very persistently within a few hours.

A race against the internet censors who keep deleting it. Until it is no longer visible at the end. Instead of the video, the error message “404” appears. A number that some now share instead – as a symbol and as a protest against censorship.