Beijing: Chinese government’s zero covid policy appears to have failed as new cases of the virus are still being found in various cities in China, Africa Daily Digital reported. At least 1,000 new cases of the virus are found in China every day, prompting the government to impose its draconian “Zero covid policy,” which has caused fear, anger, and confusion among the Chinese people. China’s Zero Covid policy has forced thousands of citizens to live in inhuman conditions. Zhang Weiya, a Shanghai resident, said, “My arms are literally trembling. I really don’t know if my mental health would be able to withstand another isolation.Chinese citizens have already endured the pain of lockdown and now after the return of the zero covid policy, they are scared about its repetition, according to Africa Daily Digital.
Government agencies have already ordered mass testing on 1.3 million people in Shanghai and ordered them to stay inside their homes until the results are out. Shops, schools, and restaurants have been asked to shut down in different parts of the country. Secretary of Datong City’s Municipality Lu Dongliang left the Communist Party’s crucial National Congress meeting midway and returned as he found the city was in a “dire situation.”
The famous tourist spot Disney Resort in Shanghai saw operations suspended without notice. The visitors and people living in the surroundings were subjected to strict measures. About 30,000 people inside the resort were not allowed unless their corona test did not come negative, reported Africa Daily Digital.
According to Africa Daily Digital, at least 31 cities in China are under lockdown, which has affected over 232 million people’s lives. The Universal Resort in Beijing too has been shut down as fresh cases of Covid are rising in the capital city.
The fear of lockdown could be seen in the migrant workers employed in China’s largest iPhone factory in Covid-hit Zhengzhou. In the viral video, droves of migrant workers have been fleeing back to their hometowns from the country’s largest iPhone factory in Covid-hit Zhengzhou, amidst a lockdown triggered by the Covid outbreak.
“Workers have broken out of #Apple’s largest assembly site, escaping the Zero #Covid lockdown at Foxconn in #Zhengzhou. After sneaking out, they’re walking to hometowns more than 100 kilometres away to beat the Covid app measures designed to control people and stop this. #China,” tweeted Stephen McDonell, BBC’s correspondent in China.
Videos shared on Chinese social media showed people jumping a fence outside the plant, owned by manufacturer Foxconn, in the central city of Zhengzhou.
It was previously reported that a number of workers had been placed under quarantine because of an outbreak of the disease.
Citizens from time to time had expressed their anger on social media. One unknown protester put a banner near the venue of the National Congress, which read “Say no to Covid test, yes to food. No to lockdown, yes to freedom. No to lies, yes to dignity.” Another banner said, “Go on strike, remove the dictator and national traitor Xi Jinping.” Many in otherwise peaceful Lhasa in Tibet came on the street against the Zero Covid policy. Most of the protestors were migrant Chinese Han people, reported Africa Daily Digital.
People are fearful about their livelihood since Zero Covid has dealt a serious blow to their incomes and has caused job losses. “I don’t know how long it will continue to be like this. I can’t find hope,” said one angry citizen on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok. “We haven’t had any income for three months – but expenses have not been reduced even by a penny,” said another post.