With no end to Shanghai’s Covid lockdown in sight, anger among residents is at risk of boiling over

One of China’s most important cities has implemented a clunky lockdown that has fuelled outrage

But what is the reality on the ground? Does the online sentiment match the reality in Shanghai?

Reading Time:6 minutes

Staff members organise mass food orders from locked down Shanghai residents. Photo: Reuters

Mandy Zuo,Daniel Ren,Yaling JiangandTracy Qu

Published: 8:35pm, 14 Apr 2022

A deep sense of unease has descended on Shanghai, China’s largest city and the economic and cultural capital, amid a surging Covid-19 outbreak that has brought the metropolis to its knees.

Stuck in a citywide lockdown that started on March 28 with no end in sight, the emotions coming out of Shanghai have fluctuated between anger, frustration, reluctant resolve and small moments of joy.

And yet, the anxieties have been fuelled by images of pandemic prevention workers killing dogs, hungry residents looting grocery stores and drones flying over skyscrapers telling residents to “control your soul’s desire for freedom”.

Amid the viral moments is the reality that many people still support China’s dynamic Covid-zero policy. They often argue that China’s healthcare infrastructure would crumble under an outbreak of the scale endured in the US, which has seen 80.4 million cases and 986,000 deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020.

And yet, in Shanghai, even the figurative cheerleaders are stuck in a difficult position; unable to go to work or access consistent supplies of food and healthcare.

China’s largest city has turned into a ghost town during a citywide lockdown. Photo: Reuters

On Wednesday, President Xi Jinping said “prevention and control work cannot be relaxed” on a trip to the southern island province of Hainan, indicating that Shanghai had a long road ahead for any return to a sense of normalcy.