Shanghai Spirals Into Apocalyptic Scenes of Chaos as Residents Rebel Against Zero COVID Policy

China’s stringent measures to control an upsurge in coronavirus cases has resulted in Shanghai’s 25 million residents largely being placed under lockdown. Over 27,000 cases of the virus were registered on 14 April, as President Xi Jinping said the country must maintain its strict “dynamic COVID clearance” policy.

Residents of China’s financial hub, Shanghai, have been rebelling against the authorities’ Zero COVID-19 curbs, as evidenced by videos reposted from China's Twitter-like Weibo social media.

Under tough rules that require even people without symptoms to go into quarantine at centralised facilities, often reported for their ostensibly poor conditions, people have been scuffling with hazmat-suited police and trying to break through barricades.

“The police are hitting us!” Woman in #Shanghai crying and shouting. Looks the police are arresting people who broke the #lockdown barricades. #上海 這樣的瘋狂還要持續多久？#CCPChina #CCPVirus pic.twitter.com/UnkJ6Aspav

— Jennifer Zeng 曾錚 (@jenniferatntd) April 14, 2022

Speechless ... #shanghai #上海封城 #lockdown pic.twitter.com/e9cycgormO

— Sebastian@上海 (@SebastianBorn) April 14, 2022

Some residents in China's biggest city have reportedly been forced from their homes as some buildings have been converted into makeshift isolation hubs.

There is no stopping the #shanghai stormtroopers. You can live in a 5 million dollar apartment in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. Once the QR code on your phone turns red (no test or positive test), off to quarantine cage you go. Resistance is futile.... pic.twitter.com/8UZwzDTLiq

— John Ford (@PDXFato) April 13, 2022

Thus, 39 households in one housing development were evicted from their flats, according to Zhangjiang Group, cited by media outlets.

Zhangjiang Group claimed it had compensated the tenants, which had been moved to units in the same compound.

The developer also acknowledged the emergence of harrowing footage on social media and said on Thursday that “the situation had now settled down” after “some tenants obstructed the construction” of a quarantine fence.

The measures are in place to contain record infection rates, with Shanghai reporting over 27,000 coronavirus cases on 14 April.

In some of the chilling footage from Shanghai and Haining, 125km to be southwest, police appear to pin protesting city residents to the ground.

Confined to their homes, people are said to be facing food and water shortages, with videos showing locals scaling set up barricades in a quest for food.

Cases began to rise in Shanghai in late March, with a phased lockdown introduced on 28 March. However, amid soaring cases, a city-wide lockdown was implemented on 3 April to contain the highly-transmissible, albeit milder Omicron strain.

A greater majority of daily virus cases are asymptomatic, with no deaths officially reported in the city since the current outbreak.

On Wednesday, China’s President Xi Jinping Xi said in a speech published by state media that strict virus measures “cannot be relaxed” and the country must stick to its strict “dynamic COVID clearance” policy, adding that “persistence is victory.”