A senior Shanghai official conceded on Thursday that China’s economic capital was “insufficiently prepared“to the current Covid epidemic outbreak, which is forcing the city to phase in its 25 million inhabitants.
The metropolis is facing its worst wave of contamination since the start of the epidemic. The Omicron variant puts a strain on the national strategy “zero covid“which aims to do everything to prevent new cases.
Back to the containment box
Shanghainese living in the eastern part of the city have been confined to their homes since Monday and undergoing general screening. This confinement will last until Friday, when the west will then be put under a bell jar.
The news was announced Sunday evening around 9 p.m., causing an influx of residents into the shops to stock up on fresh produce. With the demand, the price of vegetables has jumped.
If the logistics of containment work well overall, Shanghainese complain of not being able to access hospitals, for lack of obtaining authorization to leave their home or of being able to present a negative Covid test.
Our preparations were insufficient
At least two patients requiring dialysis and a person with asthma have died, according to messages from relatives posted on social networks.
Faced with discontent, a senior mayor’s official, Ma Chunlei, conceded on Thursday according to an official statement that “faced with the sharp increase in the number of infected people, our preparations were insufficient“.
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