The metropolis is facing its worst wave of contamination since the start of the epidemic.

The Omicron variant is putting a strain on the national "zero Covid" strategy which aims to do everything to prevent new cases.

Shanghainese living in the eastern part of the city (Pudong) have been confined to their homes since Monday morning and are subject to general screening.

This confinement will last until Friday morning, when the West (Puxi) will be put under a bell.

The news had been announced at the last moment, Sunday evening around 9 p.m., causing an influx of residents into the shops in order to stock up on food products.

With the demand, the price of vegetables jumped this week.

If the logistics of containment generally work well, some Shanghainese complain of not having enough fresh products or of not being able to access hospitals, for lack of authorization to leave their home or of having a negative Covid test.

Faced with the discontent, a senior official of the town hall, Ma Chunlei, conceded Thursday according to an official statement that "in the face of the sharp increase in the number of infected people, our preparations were insufficient".

"A hard time"

He said authorities were bolstering their stocks of testing materials, building quarantine centers and setting up beds.

"We humbly accept criticism and do our best to improve," Ma said.

The health ministry on Thursday reported more than 5,600 new positive cases in Shanghai - the vast majority asymptomatic.

Several fairgrounds in the city have been converted into quarantine centers.

Videos released by the media show countless rows of beds and partitions set up in large halls.

In western Shanghai, general containment will not begin until Friday.

But the residence of Dong Jun, a resident of this part of the city, was confined as of Wednesday after the discovery of a case.

A man stands behind barriers surrounding a confined neighborhood to fight the coronavirus, in Shanghai, China on March 31, 2022 Hector RETAMAL AFP

"I got into the habit of constantly filling my fridge since previous confinements. But I was still taken aback when I woke up to learn that confinement had been decided," he explains. at AFP.

"It's a bit of a hassle to maintain a stock of basic necessities".

But confinement can also rhyme with humor.

Three local rappers, singing in the Shanghainese dialect, have composed a humorous song with a clip where they talk about the food rush and the screenings.

Viral, it has already been shared by millions of Internet users.

WHO Appeal

The zero Covid strategy consists of several measures: confinements as soon as a few cases appear, visas allocated drop by drop, long quarantine on arrival in the territory or even tracing of movements via mobile applications.

These measures have allowed the majority of Chinese to live almost normally since the spring of 2020, to avoid overcrowding in hospitals as well as deaths – with only two deaths from Covid-19 in more than a year.

The Minister of Health called on Wednesday to continue this strategy, because even a low mortality rate would, according to him, lead to many deaths among the Chinese population (1.4 billion inhabitants).

A man sprinkles disinfectant on a bag received from a delivery man, in a confined neighborhood to fight the coronavirus in Shanghai, China on March 31, 2022 Hector RETAMAL AFP

"No country has a health system capable of coping with such figures," said Ma Xiaowei to support his point.

Asked about Shanghai, World Health Organization (WHO) emergency director Michael Ryan, however, said on Wednesday that it was necessary for all countries, including China, to have a plan to eventually lift the restrictions. Covid restrictions.

"This exit strategy (...) must be careful, especially when you have had such success so far," he however stressed to the press in Geneva.

© 2022 AFP