Thousands of residents of Beijing, forcibly sent into quarantine, in the middle of the night. This is what happened in China this Friday, after the discovery of 26 cases of Covid-19 in a residence. A new milestone in a form of health dictatorship, as the country persists in applying the zero Covid-19 strategy, despite the contagiousness of Omicron.
The Chinese government provided itself with an official notice, then proceeded to evacuate the Nanxinyuan complex, in the southeast of the capital. 13,000 people were then transported in serried ranks to isolation hotels. However, they all tested negative for Covid-19, according to images shared on social networks.
“Experts have decided that all residents of Nanxinyuan will be quarantined from midnight on May 21 for seven days,” read an announcement from Chaoyang district health authorities. “Please cooperate or you will face legal consequences,” they added. Residents were asked to pack their clothes and essentials, and told their homes were going to be sanitized, according to discussions on Weibo.
Photos on social showed 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 then,” one resident complained on Weibo. “Many of my neighbors are elderly or have young children.”
“The same as in Shanghai”
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.
China continues to pursue a draconian “zero Covid” policy: border closures, massive testing, confinement of entire cities and forced quarantines for contact cases. Despite the appearance of pockets of resistance and the resulting fall in economic activity.
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 concern on Saturday that Beijing was adopting an approach similar to that of Shanghai, where residents have been suffering for weeks from a confinement that 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,” read a comment that had more than 300 likes.