SHANGHAI: The city of Shanghai, which is fighting the outbreak of the COVID-19, has erected metal mesh barriers in front of some apartment buildings, sparking new public outcry over lockdown measures that have forced many of the city’s 25 million residents to stay at home.
On Saturday, pictures of individuals wearing white clothes to protect against infection and closing entire streets with a green fence about two meters high, which raised questions and complaints from residents, spread on social media.
About these measures, one user of the social media platform Weibo said, “This is a disrespect for the rights of people indoors by using metal barriers to surround them like pets.”
The Shanghai government did not respond to a request for comment.
Most of the barriers appear to have been erected around buildings designated as “closed areas” – buildings where at least one person has tested positive for COVID-19 and are therefore prohibited from leaving.
Archyde.com was unable to verify the authenticity of all the photos and videos.
Shanghai, China’s largest city and most important economic hub, is fighting the country’s largest outbreak of COVID-19 with a policy of requiring all confirmed cases to be placed in major quarantine facilities.
The more than three-week shutdown has led to frustration over difficulties obtaining food and medical care, as well as lost wages, family separation, conditions in quarantine centers and oversight of online anger-ventilating efforts.
The shutdown caused losses to the world’s second largest economy. The city recorded 39 new deaths from COVID-19 yesterday, compared to 12 the day before.
(Archyde.com)