Dn the East of Shanghai, Terry, confined to 25 years old, plays video games to escape his boredom. In the West, Maria enjoys a last evening at the restaurant before the confinement of her half of the city.
China’s economic capital, with a population of 25 million, is grappling with its worst Covid-19 outbreak since the outbreak began in late 2019.
After several weeks of half-measures, Shanghai has confined the eastern half of the city (the Pudong district) until Friday – when it is its western part (Puxi) which will be locked up for four days.
Result: the city is cut in two, with inhabitants stuck at home or living normally, depending on whether they live on one side or the other of the Huangpu, the river that crosses the metropolis.
The priority of the town hall is now to screen all Shanghainese, because the epidemic outbreak, due to the Omicron variant, continues to progress. Nearly 6,000 new positive cases, a record, were announced on Wednesday.
From Paris to New York, most of the world’s major cities have lifted their restrictions and are learning to live with the virus, despite the pressure on the health system.
But China persists in its zero Covid strategy, which aims to do everything to avoid the occurrence of new cases and deaths.
The streets in the east of Shanghai, the most cosmopolitan Chinese city open to foreigners, are deserted and barriers prevent access to residential buildings.
kitchen and dog
“I can’t leave my house, go shopping, go out with my friends,” laments Terry, an employee of a public company.
Pudong has been in lockdown since Monday, following weeks of targeted mini-lockdowns of residential compounds where cases had been detected.
Like many others, Terry has to make do with a reduced salary while his office is closed.
“I’m bored and I have zero morale,” says the young man, who uses an English assumed name.
“I’ve been locked up for too long. I can only watch TV, read or play video games.”
On the west side, in the historic heart of Shanghai with its emblematic Bund quay, its trendy shops and its famous nightlife, we anticipate the confinement which arrives on Friday.
“I went to dinner at the restaurant yesterday,” Maria, an American, told AFP. “I try to do things to keep my spirits up before confinement.”
People in the west have been storming supermarkets to stock up ahead of Friday.
But on Anfu Street, where well-to-do and trendy Shanghainese come to drink their coffee, Shirley, 42, aims above all to make the most of the time she has left.
“We are going to cook, invite friends, walk the dog and enjoy every minute of life before confinement”, explains this employee who works in design.
“Ghost of 2019”
Faced with the discontent of small businesses, the town hall is trying to limit the losses by offering tax relief and aid to SMEs.
Many Shanghainese welcome this confinement, which they see as a necessary evil after weeks of measuring cups with limited effectiveness.
“The number of cases continued to increase,” Frank Huang, a wine merchant, told AFP.
“I think this measure will be very effective and allow us to finally return to normal life.”
If the logistics of containment are on the whole well oiled, Shanghainese however denounce a sometimes overzealous application of the instructions.
On the Weibo social network, many complain that they cannot enter hospitals, even in an emergency, because they cannot leave their confined neighborhood or present a negative Covid test.
Weariness also begins to set in.
“The whole world is getting back on track” living with the virus, another Weibo user wrote.
“We are the only country still waiting and living with the ghost of 2019.”
30/03/2022 14:18:40 – Shanghai (AFP) – © 2022 AFP