Panicked Chinese residents in the city of Chengdu, the capital of southwestern China’s Sichuan province, have been clambering over each other at supermarket counters and stripping shelves bare amid fears that lockdown could result in food shortages. The Mail has the story.
Chengdu became the latest Chinese city to be locked down on Thursday when 21 million people were ordered to stay at home from 6pm local time after just 157 new infections were recorded.
Enormous queues of residents have built up around the city with the whole population required to be tested over the coming days.
According to state media the start of the autumn term has been halted for schools in Chengdu and flights have been grounded, while people have been banned from entering or leaving the city.
Authorities warned people not to “stock up blindly” but pictures have been shared of people panic buying meat, vegetables, condoms and even live chickens, according to What’s On Weibo…
Authorities have ordered multiple rounds of mass testing between Thursday and Sunday, with the city reporting 150 local COVID-19 infections yesterday, 47 of which displayed no symptoms.
China is the last major country committed to pursuing a ‘Zero-Covid’ strategy, with some criticism from within of the impact it is having on the economy.
The policy has proved increasingly challenging since the emergence of the fast-spreading Omicron strain, with all of China’s mainland provinces reporting local infections over the past ten days.
Children in at least ten cities and provinces are facing disruptions to to the start of the new academic year this month.
Xining, the capital of western Qinghai province and home to 2.5 million people, has ordered schools to conduct lessons online while it rolls out a mass testing drive.
The southern Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen, home to more than 17 million people, also announced new virus restrictions on Thursday.
Insane.
Worth reading in full.
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