https://www.laestrella.com.pa/internacional/mundo/220328/confinada-mitad-ciudad-china-shanghai-brote-covid-19

Millions of people in the eastern part of China’s financial hub of Shanghai were confined to their homes on Monday to contain the country’s biggest COVID-19 outbreak.

Authorities announced a two-phase lockdown in the city of 25 million people on Sunday night for massive testing.

The announcement prompted a rush to the markets by residents, increasingly exasperated with authorities’ inability to contain the outbreak after three weeks of restrictive measures.

The government sought to avoid the harsh lockdowns applied in other Chinese cities, opting for targeted lockdowns so as not to affect Shanghai’s economy.

The city has become the main focus of covid-19 in China in recent weeks, and on Monday it registered a new record of 3,500 new infections.

The area confined Monday is the eastern district known as Pudong, which includes the city’s main international airport and financial district.

The closure will last until Friday and then apply to the Puxi sector, in the more populous west of the city.

The Chinese government said steps have been taken “to contain the spread of the epidemic, ensure people’s well-being and health” and eradicate infections “as soon as possible.”

But in recent weeks, restrictive measures have been adopted in several neighborhoods, leaving many residents frustrated by repeated home confinements.

This Monday, some complained that they were only notified with a few hours of the new confinement imposed in half the city.

“We really don’t understand Shanghai’s management and control measures. There have been some inconsistencies,” said a man who gave himself the surname Cao, as he stood in line at the supermarket.

“After so long (the city) has not controlled the virus and the numbers continue to rise,” he added.

The government has not specified how the measures will impact air transport or the city’s port.

– Fight for food –

China has managed to keep the virus under control for the past two years with strict zero-tolerance measures that include massive city lockdowns even for few infections.

But the omicron variant proved difficult to eradicate and thousands of cases were reported daily in recent weeks.

The figures are insignificant globally, but they are on a sharp increase from the less than 100 daily infections that were detected in February.

Tens of millions of people in hot spots across China have faced lockdowns that appear to have helped contain the spread of the coronavirus.

However, the Shanghai authorities have insisted on the importance of keeping the city’s economic engine running.

Other cities made progress in controlling the virus, such as the technology center of Shenzhen, in the south, confined weeks ago by an outbreak of covid-19, and which resumed normal commercial activity on Monday after containing the infections.

“I didn’t think things would get so serious (in Shanghai),” said Guo Yunlong, a 24-year-old city dweller.

“The smallest detail of our lives, from clothes to food, lifestyle or comings and goings to work have been affected. I am not optimistic, to be honest,” he added.

In social networks, some users pointed out that the elderly residents of Shanghai will have problems because they do not know how to order food and other goods online.

Other users accused the Shanghai authorities of undermining health concerns to maintain normalcy in the city, known for its wealth and cosmopolitan image.