Frustration, fears of citywide lockdown as Omicron puts Shanghai to the test

Authorities have sought to minimise disruptions in China’s financial hub and it’s never been subject to blanket stay-at-home orders

Cases are rising and there is growing discontent as more residential areas are sealed off, while hospitals are forced to close temporarily

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A worker receives a delivery from a courier at a locked down neighbourhood in Shanghai on Friday. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 6:00am, 26 Mar 2022Updated: 6:35am, 26 Mar 2022

Shanghai has been seen as a model of China’s Covid-19 controls throughout the pandemic, but the fast-spreading Omicron variant is putting that to the test.

Authorities have sought to minimise disruptions while sticking to the country’s zero-Covid strategy, imposing targeted lockdowns when cases emerge.

However, the daily case numbers are rising in China’s financial hub – home to 24 million people – prompting concern among residents, and fears they could be heading for their first citywide lockdown.

Some say a snap lockdown would be better than targeted controls. Guo Xiao, 44, has been confined to her flat with her daughter for 14 days and she is worried it might drag on even longer.

The first seven days was prompted by a student at her daughter’s school testing positive, then someone in her residential area of 6,000 people got infected and it was sealed off for another seven days.

“I think it would be easier to just stop everything for a week – like they did in Shenzhen,” Guo said. “It would hurt but at least it would be quick. Now, we’re seeing cases rising every day and we don’t know when we’ll be released.”