In Shanghai, lockdown blues make way for COVID testing gripes (updated)

Sun Hung Kai Properties

02/06/2022 09:57

(Adds quotes from residents who are still under, or have gone
back under lockdown)
    By Brenda Goh and Andrew Galbraith
    SHANGHAI, June 2 (Reuters) - While a two-month COVID-19
lockdown is largely 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, the Chinese
platform similar to Twitter, 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, 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
    The ruling Chinese Communist Party's People's Daily
newspaper published a commentary on Thursday 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," it said.
    
    ON EDGE 
    Still, some 2.5 million in the city remain under lockdown
and the consequences of testing positive are the same as before:
all positive cases will be sent to central quarantine and close
contacts - including neighbours - barred from leaving home. 
    This has left many Shanghai residents remaining on edge. Two
told Reuters that they were informed on Thursday by their
compounds that they were required to go back under lockdown and
undergo daily testing.
    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.
    Other residents still under lockdown expressed mounting
frustration over their situation. 
    Aden Hogan, a British citizen, said his Shanghai compound
had not been released as two "abnormal" test results had been
found among his neighbours this week. While they were later told
that these were false positives, they were still being made to
undergo multiple tests and not allowed to leave, he said. 
    "People have done nothing wrong. We've taken the test
anytime that they have said...and they’ve been forcing us to
have tests in the middle of the night. It makes you feel like a
criminal." 
    Shanghai reported eight new asymptomatic coronavirus cases
for June 1 and five new symptomatic cases.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nB9N2XA013

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