As the world moves away from the pandemic, China, specifically in Shanghai, has been desperately battling the Omicron variant, attempting to hold its zero-COVID-19 policy. According to BBC News, with over 200,000 new cases, none of which are serious, authorities are struggling to find places to isolate their citizens.  

“Millions are confined to their homes as Shanghai battles a fresh outbreak of the virus. Anyone who tests positive is placed in quarantine,” said BBC News. 

The government has been locking people in their homes and citizens are screaming for help. They are running out of food and water supplies, not to mention the devastating economic effects of the lockdown. Government drop-offs for food and water have been the only way citizens in isolation are able to obtain their necessities, and analysts predict that they are running low on supplies. 

The Washington Post mentioned how residents are shouting from their windows, screaming, “Save us. We don’t have enough to eat.”

Others have been taken away to makeshift quarantine facilities and hospitals. These confined areas contain dozens of beds, with the majority of reluctant citizens quarantined in these areas. There have even been physical altercations in disputes between them and the authorities. In addition, Shanghai’s, China’s biggest city and a global financial hub, shutting down, along with limited employment labor, has greatly impacted China’s production output and income. 

He Xiaopeng, President of an electric vehicle manufacturer, XPeng, expressed how if they don’t reopen Shanghai in May, then, all car factories across the country might have to stop operating.

Additionally, even as China’s extremely strict zero-COVID policy becomes increasingly difficult to maintain, the foundational elements still apply. Firstly, travel in and out of China is practically impossible, and internal movement is restricted as well. Travelers entering China are required to take multiple health screenings and quarantine for two weeks. In addition, regular community testing will take place, and residents will be evicted and sent to quarantine if they test positive. Almost all non-essential businesses, schools, and public transportation are shut down as well.

This sudden outbreak and the authoritarian Shanghai government not only put its citizens in an economic crisis but also diminishes their faith in authority. 

“Even the authoritarian governments, they still have to take this mass reaction into account, or else will lose the cooperation from the society. We’re going to expect that [the central government] is going to improve the policy implementation, even though the policy itself is not going to change,” Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Vox on Friday.

Ultimately, government officials and Chinese citizens themselves have determined that China’s zero-COVID policy is no longer effective. With a different pandemic landscape, the policies and legacy of how COVID is being handled have caused an uproar, and people are watching how much longer Shanghai can hold onto its strict policies. 

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