Residents of Nanxinyuan compound in SE Beijing were told to pack essential belongings and cooperate, otherwise they… https://t.co/oci10s4E9S
On Chinese social networks, some are talking about evacuation scenes reminiscent of war. Thousands of Beijing residents – 21 million people – were forcibly sent into quarantine overnight from Friday May 20 to Saturday May 21, after 26 cases of Covid-19 were discovered in their residence, according to images and an official opinion widely shared on social networks.
More than 13,000 residents of the Nanxinyuan residential complex in the southeast of the capital, although tested negative for the virus, were transported overnight to isolation hotels and threatened with reprisals if they resisted.
“Experts have decided that all residents of Nanxinyuan will be subject to quarantine from midnight on May 21 for seven days”reads an announcement from the health authorities of Chaoyang district. “Please cooperate, otherwise you will suffer the legal consequences”they added.
Pictures on social show hundreds of people queuing with their luggage in the dark to board coaches outside the residence. “Some of us have been locked up for 28 days since April 23, and we’ve all tested negative since”a resident complained on Weibo. “Many of my neighbors are elderly or have young children. »
Residents were asked to pack their clothes and essentials, and told their homes were going to be sanitized, according to discussions on Weibo.
Beijing is facing its biggest outbreak of contamination since the start of the pandemic. The Omicron variant has infected more than 1,300 people since the end of April, leading to the indefinite closure of restaurants, schools and tourist sites.
Chaotic lockdown in Shanghai
China is leading a draconian “zero Covid” policy: border closures, massive tests, confinement of entire cities and forced quarantines for contact cases.
Last month, thousands of Shanghai residents were sent to makeshift quarantine centers hundreds of miles away as the metropolis of 25 million battled an outbreak.
On Weibo, Internet users expressed their concern on Saturday that Beijing was adopting an approach similar to that of Shanghai, where residents are undergoing sometimes chaotic confinement, which has deprived many people of adequate access to food and care.
“It’s exactly the same as in Shanghai, the first step is to cut off the water and electricity, then to demand keys… then to disinfect the houses. Electrical appliances, wooden furniture, clothes, food… they are all ruined”can we read in a comment, which displayed more than 300 likes.