In Shanghai, lockdown blues make way for COVID testing gripes

Sun Hung Kai Properties

02/06/2022 07:16

SHANGHAI, June 2 (Reuters) - While a two-month COVID
lockdown is all but over in Shanghai, residents' relief is
quickly giving way to frustration that they now face hours
waiting in line for virus tests and the negative results they
must show to be allowed to enter public spaces.
    China's business and commercial hub lifted lockdowns for
most of its 25 million residents on Wednesday. But citizens are
required to have proof they've taken a COVID test within the
last 72 hours in order to enter areas like malls and offices -
or even to use subways and buses. 
    Authorities have built 15,000 testing sites and trained
thousands of workers to swab throats. Still, long, snaking
queues amid early summer heat of up to 31 degrees Celsius became
a common sight on Wednesday and Thursday, with some people
saying they queued for two hours.
    One person posted a picture on social media of a sign at a
booth warning of a 4.5 hour wait. The hashtag "Shanghai PCR
testing" garnered 190 million views on Weibo on Thursday. 
    "I left the lockdown nightmare only to enter the 72-hour PCR
testing nightmare," said one Shanghai resident, declining to
provide her name. 
    "It is troublesome, but we have no choice," said another,
named Xu Xiaojun. "This is for everyone's good."
    Other Chinese cities including Beijing and Shenzhen have
imposed similar requirements under a national zero-COVID policy
that aims to cut off every infection chain.
    Despite the deep discontent sparked by Shanghai's stringent
curbs - some 2.5 million in the city are still under lockdown -
China has vowed to stick with its approach. It says the
zero-COVID policy is needed to save lives and prevent its
healthcare system from being swamped, even as much of the world
tries to return to normal despite ongoing infections.
    That increasingly means COVID testing is becoming a feature
of daily life: China's goal is to have testing sites within a 15
minute walk for everyone in large cities.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2XM04C
    Still, many Shanghai residents remain on edge about the
possibility of going back under lockdown.
    On Thursday, videos shared on social media showed people
fleeing the luxury International Finance Centre (IFC) mall in
the city's Lujiazui financial district after it stopped people
from entering or exiting - a common practice at venues when a
positive COVID test result is found. 
    The IFC mall, run by Sun Hung Kai Properties  0016.HK ,
later issued a notice saying that it had reopened at 12.30 p.m.
local time after carrying out a full disinfection without
confirming whether there had been a positive COVID test at the
site. The mall did not respond to calls seeking further comment.
    The ruling Chinese Communist Party's People's Daily
newspaper on Thursday also published a commentary in which it
said that the zero-COVID policy was most appropriate for China's
situation. It also carried a front-page article describing how
Shanghai was returning to normal. 
    "Great, phased results have been achieved in the defence of
Shanghai."
    

 (Reporting by Brenda Goh, Andrew Galbraith, Winni Zhou, Zhang
Yan and Engen Tham in Shanghai and Sophie Yu in Beijing; Editing
by Kenneth Maxwell)
 ((brenda.goh@thomsonreuters.com; +86 (0) 21 2083 0088; Reuters
Messaging: brenda.goh.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))