Shanghai lockdown

[elbows]

I heard there’s been some major fuck up in food supply for locked down people which will be having a massive impact on the feasibility of this. It was on Twitter n I dunno how to track the tweet down tho.

Its major news at the moment, eg:

Shanghai: Residents 'running out of food' in Covid lockdown

Some living in China's biggest city say they're struggling to get supplies weeks into lockdown.

www.bbc.co.uk

Certainly its hard to overstate the food logistics challenge of doing a hard lockdown in a megacity. Especially if the lockdown goes on for a longer period of time than you encouraged the population to stock up for at the start.

 

[Combustible]

What's the vaccine rollout like? I saw 19% of over 80s quoted which seems unbelievably low.

My impression is that by in large vaccinations were either organized through certain workplaces (such as universities etc), or people had to take themselves to a hospital or clinic to get vaccinated. This is coupled with the fact that early on the authorities seemed to avoid making strong statements that very old or vulnerable people should in fact get vaccinated, and many people including some medical staff such as doctors and nurses maintained that vaccination for this group is too risky (despite the greater risk for them if covid did breakout). So it is easy to see why many old people, who generally live with relatives, were not taken to get vaccinated. What is less easy to see is why there was not more of a proactive push to vaccinate elderly people earlier on, making it clear that even though the zero-covid policy was currently effective, the risks of a future outbreak greatly outweighed the risks of vaccination.

It was the same with the advice for pregnant women. My wife was advised by a doctor not to get vaccinated when pregnant. I tried looking online to see what was the 'official' position on the vaccines and pregnancy, but it was all amazingly non-committal.

 

[frogwoman]

Youd have thought that if the Chinese state could weld peoples doors shut they could also organise a vaccination campaign but maybe not. It does look from here like an excuse for more authoritarianism but I know that Hong Kong and places have been hit badly.

 

[elbows]

Mistakes with pregnancy and covid vaccination messaging and prioritisation were made in many countries and we are still playing catch-up with that now. Those were bad mistakes with consequences. But for countries to make the same mistake with elderly populations, even when its been known since very early in the pandemic that there was an incredibly strong link between risk and age with this virus, is utterly unforgivable.

 

[elbows]

Youd have thought that if the Chinese state could weld peoples doors shut they could also organise a vaccination campaign but maybe not. It does look from here like an excuse for more authoritarianism but I know that Hong Kong and places have been hit badly.

Its not that China wants to lock everyone down for a laugh, absent a very real threat to public health. Its more a combination of authoritarianism being the default political instinct, combined with failures to address the virus threat in other ways during the window of opportunity such policies enabled in the past.

But yes when such authoritarian policies got a result in the pandemic in the past, the successes are then used to promote and justify authoritarian politics in general there, with implications for broader life. But when the perceived pain-reward balance goes all to fuck, when people are asked to bear too great a burden as a result, such as with the current food supply problems, then a great political risk emerges that could blow up in their face and threaten the broader authoritarian project in a fundamental way that goes far beyond the pandemic.

 

[Combustible]

For example, this is first result on Baidu that I got searching for whether over 80's should get the vaccine (from October last year)

80岁老人能打新冠疫苗吗 打新冠疫苗的年龄范围是什么 - 博禾医生

现在新冠疫苗好像都有年龄限制，但是如果是80岁老人能打新冠疫苗吗？儿童能打新冠疫苗吗？

www.bohe.cn

It basically says "it depends", and my understanding is that it says that people with serious or chronic diseases should not receive the vaccine. Whereas in most other countries, only a relatively small number of people are actually advised not to get it.

 

[JimW]

Here's a post from someone in lockdown I saw on a language learning forum: Coronavirus - those in China, and general discussion

Currently buying anything is really difficult, take away have all stopped, placing personal orders anywhere is next to impossible. People are now mostly reduced to 团购ing, where 20+ people from the same 小区 place a large order together directly with a supplier, but we've been informed today that even that is getting shut down now. Apparently this 团购ing, is suspected to be the main way Corona is spreading now as picking up and distributing these supplies are basically the only interaction between people now.

Been doing daily rapid self-tests these last few days, but our 小区 is somehow still finding new cases after 4 weeks of being locked down, believe it or not.

The atmosphere in the city seems to be reaching a boiling point, lots of complaints with regards to how the government has (not) handled this:
* Super slow reaction to the spread of cases, they were still trying to isolate 小区 by 小区 when it was obvious that it was all over SH. This strategy might have worked with Delta, but with the latest Omnicron variants there is no way you can stop it like this...
* Lack of supplies, people unable to buy what they need and the government is not providing much/anything
* Shitty conditions at the huge temporary quarantine centers for the "asymptomatic cases" (which is 98% of the cases according to the official numbers)
* No clear plan, lack of communication regarding the future. Before the city-wide lockdown, some 小区 (e.g. ours) were closed 48 hours for testing, but never got opened again afterwards. Again, no communication as to why or when it would open.
* Horror cases like a dog getting beaten to death due to the owner being taken to quarantine.
* A lot of people in SH's salary depends on actually working, if you dont work you dont get paid/get just your "base" salary.

团购 is what I think you call Group-on and that sort of thing, 小区 is the residential compound/community.

 

[Mation]

Many things covered in that report are awful, but one I haven't seen any other mention of is some people being locked down AT FUCKING WORK, so they can continue working. Having to sleep there.

Jesus.

Given the combined facts of that not being the case here (so my position of safety), plus my nightmare employers, that's sort of horrifically funny to think of for my own situation. But this is actually happening to people. Christ

Anyone have an idea of how extensive it is? Is there any sort of glimmer of non-grim in which it's people who've consented because they're doing something caring?

 

[skyscraper101]

Black Mirror, much?

 

[Yossarian]

After being told there were no plans for a lockdown, then being told 16 days ago that there were plans only for a four-day lockdown, Shanghai residents are now being told there will only be 14 more days of total lockdown - starting at the time when nobody in their community tests positive.

Under the new measures, areas in Shanghai will be classified as “precautionary,” “controlled” or “locked down,” depending on the results of the latest round of testing, Shanghai Vice Mayor Zong Ming told a news conference.

Residents in areas deemed to be “precautionary” with no infections within the last two weeks will be able to move around their district, although gatherings will still be restricted. Meanwhile, in “controlled” areas, residents can move around in their neighborhoods, which are smaller than districts, while “locked down” areas will require everyone to stay at home.

Shanghai to start easing lockdown after another mass testing

China’s largest city of Shanghai says it will soon begin lifting lockdown in communities that report no positive cases within 14 days after another round of COVID-19 testing

abcnews.go.com

 

[frogwoman]

 

[Combustible]

Doesn't look like looting a supermarket, I think they are picking up food packages. Hence why they are picking up and carrying the same red packages (and that doesn't look at all like a supermarket).

 

[l'Otters]

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Thread from someone in China about responses to food shortage in the current lock down. Is it likely to be accurate?

 

[bluescreen]

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Thread from someone in China about responses to food shortage in the current lock down. Is it likely to be accurate?

What do you think she's saying between the lines? That they're on the edge? That rioting would be met with extreme prejudice?

 

[Jessiedog]

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Thread from someone in China about responses to food shortage in the current lock down. Is it likely to be accurate?

I think RSC is a reliable and credible source.


Woof

 

[Jessiedog]

What do you think she's saying between the lines? That they're on the edge? That rioting would be met with extreme prejudice?

Yes and yes.


Woof

 

[Pickman's model]

I think RSC is a reliable and credible source.


Woof

every time i see rsc my immediate translation is royal shakespeare company

 

[Brainaddict]

Yes, I saw that thread. Seemed to be saying people are now starving, that they won't put up with it for long, but the state response will be harsh if they riot. How can they have fucked this up so badly?

 

[Jessiedog]

every time i see rsc my immediate translation is royal shakespeare company

Oh Picky! That paints a poignant and pertinent portrait pertaining your perplexing psyche and psychology.



Woof

 

[Pickman's model]

Yes, I saw that thread. Seemed to be saying people are now starving, that they won't put up with it for long, but the state response will be harsh if they riot. How can they have fucked this up so badly?

very easily

 

[Brainaddict]

Seems the Chinese govt itself has not got the PolSci 101 memo that Chinese people have put up with their authoritarian bullshit in exchange for increasing material security. Take away the material security through a ludicrously harsh lockdown and what the hell do they expect to happen?

 

[elbows]

I find that I'm limited in thoughts on China because I struggle to properly judge the sharp end of the pandemic there, due to a lack of hospital and death data that I can trust.

I did see that the BBC had the following chart about vaccines in China.

Its from an article which features a headline that does not reflect a move away from their 'zero-covid' approach, but rather an earlier change in Shanghai, because apparently they previously tried to make their lockdowns far more local rather than city-wide. At least they used the term 'relatively relaxed', because thats certainly a relative concept, not to be confused with what counts as a relaxed approach elsewhere.

The article also mentions that China has approved mRNA vaccine trials. And these sorts of vaccine uptake figures dont tell the whole story, especially not if their domestic vaccines arent working well against Omicron.

How long will Shanghai's lockdown last?

Shanghai announced that it would "open up" soon, but many worry that a de facto lockdown will continue.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Jessiedog]

This is an interesting glimpse into events on Weibo (China's Twitter,) overnight and early this morning.





Woof

 

[Jessiedog]

And this is a nice timeline of the Shanghai Lockdown from the 1st of March - 13th April.





Woof

 

[Yossarian]

Hundreds of thousands of people, including unvaccinated elderly people, have been infected in the Shanghai outbreak and many are dying but China is claiming the outbreak hasn't killed anybody - apparently the death isn't attributed to COVID if underlying conditions exist.

For the official count to be zero, I think the "underlying conditions" must include old age.

Official figures say there have been no deaths during the current outbreak across the city; none at all. China has a strict criteria for confirming Covid-19 cases, which includes evidence in patients of lung damage caused by the virus. This must be confirmed in a scan.

One man whose 72-year-old sister died at Donghai earlier this month told us that he had struggled to get a full explanation from officials about the cause of death.

He told us that she had tested negative in the weeks before she died on 3 April. But he was not able to get a record of her test results in the final days before she died.

The man said his sister was one of six patients in a room, five of whom died. He told the BBC that "the outbreak [was] so bad in that care home".

Covid China: Elderly deaths contradict Shanghai figures

Official figures claim there have been no Covid deaths in the current outbreak.

www.bbc.com

 

[skyscraper101]

Mental

Shanghai COVID lockdown: Fences appear around residential buildings to keep people in their homes as strict rules continue

China's strict zero-COVID policy has hurt its most important economic city, also causing people to lose wages, families to be separated, and many residents to run short of food and other supplies.

news.sky.com