China: facing Omicron, Shanghai is sinking into the “zero Covid” strategy

Workers unload groceries before distributing them to local residents amid the Covid-19 lockdown in Shanghai, April 5, 2022. AP

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2 mins

Severely tested by the Omicron variant, the Chinese strategy of "zero Covid" was once again defended by Xi Jinping during a ceremony in honor of the athletes of the Winter Olympics this Friday, April 8.

She really needs it: 21,000 new cases of contamination have been reported in Shanghai.

Under cover for more than a week, the Chinese economic capital is facing food shortages.

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With our correspondent in Beijing,

It's another tough day for Chinese censors engaged in an endless race to erase comments from people unhappy with health restrictions in Shanghai.

This Friday, a "Help" logo on a black background, associated with the characters 求救 (Qiújiù, "SOS" in Mandarin), invaded the moments on the Weibo network like wildfire.

“Tall Whites” on roller skates

The SOS being in the title of an article posted Thursday evening and now inaccessible, whose author under the pseudonym

defines himself as a “ 

”, and above all as a starved to death after 22 days of confinement.

The food always arrives in dribs and drabs, he says, in particular because of the difficulties in getting it delivered.

To counter this wave of criticism, the state media are flooding the networks with images of "tall whites", these supply agents in white protective suits, sometimes on roller skates to a background of perky music, who are struggling to bring food for the 25 million confined.

. 近日, 上海 据 人民 视频, 一名 穿着 轮滑 鞋 的 "大白" 给 居民 们 送 物资, 可谓 是 "风驰电掣" 当事人 表示, 还 可以 顺便 锻炼 身体 (素材 来源: 人民 视频).. Pic.twitter.com /eyarxZqopV

— The Paper 澎湃新闻 (@thepapercn) April 8, 2022

130,000 beds for positives

Quick, quick, because when bellies growl, anger rises.

38,000 medical workers have been sent in as reinforcements this week.

New collective quarantine centers have emerged.

Shanghai is building a new Fāngcāng yīyuàn (方舱医院)), literally a new temporary hospital at the Shanghai Conference Center, with 40,000 beds to isolate Covid patients.https://t.co/WFZSDShri5

— Stephane Lagarde (@StephaneLagarde) April 6, 2022

The authorities are now talking about a capacity of 130,000 beds to isolate those who test positive, in their majority asymptomatic cases.

With the full commitment of the central government, because for the first time since the start of the pandemic, the "zero Covid" which, until now, had managed to smother new outbreaks in just over a month, risks this times of losing the battle.

Especially since the lockdown also hinders activity.

The largest container port in the world lacks drivers and dockers to facilitate the arrival and departure of goods.

Hundreds of thousands of shops and businesses are shut down. 

►Read also: Covid-19 in China: opening of a quarantine hospital for pets

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