Shanghai residents said that they are running out of food amid the lockdown imposed to curb the recent Omicron-fueled Covid-19 outbreak. Zhang Yu, Xiao Gang and many others expressed their frustrations with the government’s methods while speaking to news agencies Associated Press (AP) and Nikkei Asia. Both residents have highlighted that the apps which were to deliver groceries to people’s doorsteps are unable to do so as daily quotas are filled.
“I only stockpiled for five days because the government said the lockdown would end on Tuesday. Now, I’m relying on the goodwill of my landlord for food,” Gang was quoted as saying by news agency Nikkei Asia. Several news agencies have reported that residents are pooling resources in order to fight starvation as the local authorities in Shanghai also accepted that there were some failures with respect to food and essentials deliveries amid the lockdown.
“There are some difficulties in ensuring the supply of daily necessities. Cross-provincial logistics have not been smooth due to the impact of the outbreak. That has resulted in delays,” Shanghai official Liu Min told the press.
Zhang, told the AP, that he has cut down on meals as well due to the shortage of resources.
China’s state-run news agency has said that news of food shortage were rumours spreading among the public and city officials claimed that Shanghai has sufficient stocks of food. Chinese vice premier Sun Chunlan encouraged people to help enhance delivery capacity as well as increase residents’ confidence in the fight against Covid-19.
However, the situation in Shanghai continues to concern the Chinese Communist Party which is yet to switch to ‘living with Covid’ policy and staunchly follows zero-Covid policy. The shortage of beds due to hospitalisations are evident as neighbouring cities have offered up to 60,000 additional beds to help the city arrest the spread of Covid-19.
Shanghai reported a record 21,000 new cases on Friday and more than 26 million still live under lockdown. More than 23 such cities in China remain under full or partial lockdown, Nomura estimated in a report. These cities contribute a total of 22% to China’s GDP. Changchun, a manufacturing hub, has remained shut down for close to a month.
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