The outbreak was caused by the Omicron variant and became the most widespread in Shanghai since the pandemic began two years prior, apparently caused by faulty Air conditioning in a hotel situated near a metro station in one of the isolation hotels for arrivals coming into China (hotel isolation was mandatory for all those entering China for 2-4weeks for more with daily cover testing)
Unable to bring the spread under control Authorities responded with mass COVID-19 testing and a strict lockdown of the city in an effort to uphold China's zero-COVID policy; the latter marked the largest one in the country since the lockdown of Wuhan, Hubei in early 2020 at the start of COVID. The outbreak caused substantial economic and social disruption across Shanghai with consequences felt elsewhere, and led to the spread of COVID-19 to other parts of China, including Beijing, Guangdong, and Hunan.
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SHANGHAI LOCKDOWN LASTED SEVERAL MONTHS BEFORE OPENING WITH RESTRICTIONS. A QR CODE SYSTEM WAS IMPLEMENTED IN WHICH YOU NEEDED TO TEST AT BOOTHS EVERY COUPLE OF DAYS AND THE RESULTS WERE SENT TO YOUR PHONE WITH A TIMER ON THEM.
GREEN = NO COVID. UNDER 24/48/72H OR WITHIN ONE WEEK
YELLOW = THEN YOU NEEDED TO UPDATE TESTING, (BEEN OVER 1 WEEK)
RED = POSITIVE. YOU WERE SUSPECTED OF HAVING COVID (IE. SOMEONE IN THE 10 PERSON TEST TUBE WAS POSITIVE OR YOU WERE IN FACT POSITIVE)
GREEN = NO COVID. UNDER 24/48/72H OR WITHIN ONE WEEK
YELLOW = THEN YOU NEEDED TO UPDATE TESTING, (BEEN OVER 1 WEEK)
RED = POSITIVE. YOU WERE SUSPECTED OF HAVING COVID (IE. SOMEONE IN THE 10 PERSON TEST TUBE WAS POSITIVE OR YOU WERE IN FACT POSITIVE)
at the start if you were positive (or near a positive / lived in the same building or complex) you were taken away and quarantined in a hotel, or later when they ran out of space they put you in a "fang Cang" a sort of makeshift cover hospital. later they relaxed in a little...
IF RED, THEN YOU WERE CALLED REPEATEDLY AND HOME QUARANTINED FOR AT LEAST 48 HOURS OR TAKEN TO A HOTEL OR 'FANG CANG' FOR INDIVIDUAL TESTING. IF STILL POSITIVE YOU WERE FREE TO GO AFTER THE 48 HOURS. IF NOT.....
This happened to me once in August. I was retested at home for 2 days. I was terrified when I woke up to several missed calls and a red QR code. I cried from the fear of been taken. thankfully it wasn't me. at this time the building would be taken to a fang cang and the compound put in lockdown for 2 weeks.
if you aren't allowed to meet inside, then outside it is!
even get your hair cut outside. no need for a QR if you aren't going in anywhere eh?
must have a covid test results code of under 72hour (green code) to enter places. either show directly, scan the entrance code, or be scanned. showing just a screenshot wasn't allowed (though often done) everything in the place is also regularly disinfected and hand sanitisers were readily available for use free of charge
there were also home tests. we used them during the lockdown and had to send pictures in the group chat...
overtime this eased and it wasn't the whole compound locked down or taken away, later the residents were also allowed to stay at home but locked in (they were running out of places to put people, hotels and makeshift camps were full). after the Shanghai city lockdown, they started doing this in other cities too, not full province capital cities but vast areas /smaller cities/towns.
These rules extended to all cities. to enter buildings. residential or commercial you needed these codes. testing was required for other cities, if they even permitted you from another city. as location code tracker was also checked. very unconventional and inconvenient for those who were tech savvy or if your battery died. further still, each city had a different code. a Shanghai code wasn't usable in Suzhou. you may arrive and not be allowed anywhere for 24 hours until your suzhou test results came out.
LOCKDOWN ENDED!!!!!
WELL....THE CITY LOCKDOWN IN SHANGHAI
Can you guess which days I was locked in??
lockdown seriously effected my daily steps, among other things...
Still....my building was lucky, it wasn't a compound. It was a solo corner building and in changing district so we didn't have too many lockdowns and during the first we were let out as we had no cases however some people were in for the whole time or longer due to living in big compounds with cases (if they weren't unlucky enough to get taken to a fangcang)
eventually the official city lockdown ended and there were government official notices release that said everyone had to be released (like a prison.... )
kids didn't return to the schools. an early summer vacation started, though many wouldn't/couldnt leave Shanghai. some did many went to Hainan, sanya. then they started locking down there! for weeks! my roommate got trapped there. when eventually they started letting people return to their cities hey had to quarantine in hotels or central QT. followed by another in your home....if permitted by the neighbourhood committee. most declined.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/08/08/china/china-covid-sanya-lockdown-tourists-intl-hnk-mic/index.html
but there were still random build and community compound lockdowns .....
Several group chats were created for our building,, as a whole and sectioned into floor. I was in this one for floor 25 and 26 (top floors, we were 26E) by the neighbourhood committee leaders. This message is apologising for the late night disturbance, the message informs us that floor 15 has a close contact case, so they how building will follow a 2 + 12 lockdown policy......we will be tested for 2 days from 5.30am. if we are all negative then we will open but be under close watch for another 12 (self testing) if someone comes up positive then fangcang防仓 (the covid centres) This rule was considered an improvement...
new lockdowns regulations and restrictions included fencing off whole compounds and streets......
we were guarded by local building security, some of which had to stay in tents outside in PPE. lucky it wasn't winter!
they made some ridiculous rumours to keep it going.....
after the Shanghai lockdown finished....they started doing it in other cities too. like dominoes...
barely any flights
they locked down schools and started mass testing without parents and wouldn't let the kids leave until it was all finished.....they even did it in Disneyland!
they locked down schools and kindergartens and then started notifiying families to put everyone in lockdown because one student might be positive....one kid, in the whole school....
warnings up. its illegal to take a test for someone else...
hotels were desperate it seems. many left after the lockdowns and no1 would visit. rent decreased slight ly though. many expats left and Chinese all dreamt of leaving. sending kids abroad or leaving for study themselves
lockdown notices
some examples:
covid workers killing pets of those taken to the fangcang at the start of lockdown
children crammed into rooms at the start of lockdown having been separated and taken away from parents
people revolting against their covid wardens or the police
people making fun of the lockdowns or covid (songs for example)
#404. I took screenshots/videos of most things to keep as evidence of what all was happening, you never knew when it would be deleted by 'big brother' China replaced by #404 content not available or "content deleted by author" YEAH like they had a choice....
https://www.npr.org/2022/11/24/1139147636/china-expands-lockdowns-as-covid-19-cases-hit-daily-record
HOW TO DEAL WITH COVID
while the rest of the world was starting to move on, deeming covid as becoming more like a bad flu with many being asymptomatic (especially after vaccinations) China was implementing harsher and more crazy restrictions. rather than just ending it...
BUILD MORE FANGCANGS
Where is locked? How many high/medium/low risk areas are there? How many are positive in total presently and how many new cases.....
tracking app. to show where you have been and if you have been anywhere 'risky"
it started doff just showing province, then added cities, villages and even districts....#bigbrotheriswatching
others risked it..... xishuangbanna became the next hot spot for lockdowns. with people fleeing hotels fearing getting locked (no1 wanted a repeat of sanya in the summer, the island was locked for weeks)
OCTOBER HOLIDAY
it went a bit crazy around the holiday. parents and students couldn't leave Shanghai. if they did they couldn't return to the school for at least a week. madness! as you were asked every Monday to send your location code in advance for checking to prove you hadn't been anywhere. you also needed to do your covid test and send it. this was done in the school everyday. eventually every other day, but faculty needed everyday. due to the strict rules there was a lot less travel, along with the constant fear that the place you visited would suddenly become a new covid hotspot (like in the summer with Sanya) resulting in a sudden lockdowns - travel was a risk. you may get stuck paying for a hotel for weeks locked in and unable to return to your home or job..... this heavily effected businesses, it was difficult to travel. if the business travel was in the one province it was fine but if you wanted to go to another then it became tricky, increased lockdown risk and it would also show up on your location code. though this didn't matter as they soon also improved it. the code would show the province, county and city. (perhaps if it continued even the area of the city.....)
thankfully being a wizz at photoshop and a travel fiend I could take the risk! So I did travel but it was a hassle. and I had it easy...there were more lockdowns during the holiday and many many more after....
I went to Shangrila in Yunnan province (again). But it was annoying. you needed daily tests. I hated it. everyone hated it. I arrived in Kunming and was given a test on arrival at the train station in the early evening. I met my friend for a bit and then got the overnight train to Lijiang arriving very early in the morning (after 6am) and went straight to the bus station to get a bus to Shangrila. my test results were not yet out on my phone....it was already 12 hours. in Shanghai its around 6-8h. even though I had the test from the previous day they wouldn't let me get a bus ticket or go anywhere. I was furious. I stored by bag and went for an angry cycle on a shared bike, no clue where to go as I wouldn't be allowed in anywhere without the correct code!!!!! thankfully.....I checked my phone again after 30minutes and saw that the results were out (green of course) I returned to the bus station...again. and got a new ticket for a hour later....I had just missed the previous. stupid rules ruining my plans!
the roads are much improved from the first time I visited (there will even be a train soon) and it can take just over an hour to get there (the first time I visited in 2017 it took 5hours) but....because of covid rules. there were road blockades where QR codes are checked for tests and IDs. being a foreigner I had to get out and go to the office and check. MORE ANNOYANCE. we are all then tested..... before being able to get back on the bus and proceed....so the journey was 2-3 hours and I didn't arrive until midday......
Shangrila only had a few places where you could test (we could check on the app map, it would also tell you how busy is was) most people stay in the tourist area of the old town so of course this was the busiest. the queue was easily 100 long or more. all day unless closed. and this was needed everyday...just for a stupid test!!!!!!!!!
but at least no1 here came up positive. people did in xishuangbanna in the south east of Yunnan (near the Laos border) people started fleeing hotels with cases trying to avoid lockdowns. then they lockdown the whole city and gave everyone red codes. even if you had been and left before this started (1 or 2 days) they also gave you a red code and took you to a fangcang. CRAZY
I came back to Shanghai for 1 day only to then have to go into a lockdown like half of Shanghai because I was a potential close contact of close contact a positive case. in other words, someone in my building had been somewhere there was a positive case.
the positive case was caused by 2 travellers from Xinjiang who visited during the holiday. they even went to a club....resulting in total lockdowns with gates of large areas of the city. I should have just stayed in Yunnan longer.......
non Covid deaths caused by covid policy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_Oc6fqWZkQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dcc0cFV2EDs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djfjiL90IIU
FIFA
memes got creative. such as these that circulated during the FIFA World Cup
the chinese airings of the matches removed spectators from view as they shoed how the rest of the world had moved on from covid. people weren't wearing masks, not everyone was sick and dying.... whereas in china... masks, tests, code checks, what and blue PP gear, lockdowns
October holiday madness...
IT WENT TOO FAR. when you ignore all basic sense in regard to health and safety and you lock people into buidlings, blocking fire exits etc. something bad will happened, eventually there will be a major tragic accident....
and so...
.
some cities also went the same way as Shanghai had and entered full lockdown...for months. The worst being Xinjiang were an accidental fire due to enforced lockdown measures occurred and lead to several deaths as residents couldst escape and the fire brigade couldn't get in and get access to the building and apartments in time. There was an uproar, several months of madness, and no1 dying from covid directly, rather dying due to covid implicated restrictions, protests started. People took to the streets. to pay homage to the disaster they gathered on wulimuqi streets 乌鲁木齐路 URUMQI （capital of Xinjiang where the disaster occurered, all major city streets in China are named after other cities and areas of China eg, nanjing road, peoples square, chongqing road etc) throughout china these streets became the locations of protests. The people had had enough. The rest of the world was moving on, why couldn't they?! The Summer had seen the World Cup in Qatar. We had seen the footage of everyone with no masks, no1 was dying....it was time for change!
Xinjiang fire deaths - over 3 month of lockdown
change?
nationwide protests and covid restriction related deaths
November 26/27th
everyone was protesting in the wulimuqi roads in the different cities....
china logic....cant meet to protest in the street if they can't find the street (steals the signs)
cue several memes based on "a clockwork orange" and ultra violence haha
WHITE PAPER PROTESTS
everyone was sick and tired it......the rules, not covid. no1 was getting super sick or dying from covid..... just the government rules...
THE APPLE FACTORY
THE WHITE PAPER PROTESTS #ANNOYMOUS
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2023/11/chinas-white-paper-movement-one-year-on-six-protesters-share-their-stories/
GOODBYE. FREEDDDDOOOOOM!!! THE END IS NIGH. OVER LA!
freedom!!! to leave you had to fine in an online questionnaire asking if you had had cover in the past2 weeks. everyone lied and said no....the whole country got covid at xmas
