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Workers in PPE unload groceries from a truck before distributing them to local residents under the Covid-19 lockdown in Shanghai. PA

Shanghai residents ‘running out of food’ under Covid lockdown

Strict anti-coronavirus controls are confining most of its 25 million people to their homes.

RESIDENTS OF SHANGHAI are struggling to get meat, rice and other food supplies under anti-coronavirus controls that confine most of its 25 million people to their homes, fuelling frustration as the government tries to contain a spreading outbreak.

People in China’s business capital have complained online grocers are often sold out. Some received government food packages of meat and vegetables for a few days.

Zhang Yu, 33, said her household of eight eats three meals a day but has cut back to noodles for lunch. They received no government supplies.

Shanghai’s battle against the epidemic has reached the most critical moment.

“It’s not easy to keep this up,” said Zhang, who starts shopping online at 7 am.

“We read on the news there is (food), but we just can’t buy it,” she said. “As soon as you go to the grocery shopping app, it says today’s orders are filled.”

The complaints are an embarrassment for the ruling Communist Party during a politically sensitive year when President Xi Jinping is expected to try to break with tradition and award himself a third five-year term as leader.

Shanghai highlights the soaring human and economic cost of China’s “zero-Covid” strategy that aims to isolate every infected person.

Today, the government reported 23,107 new cases nationwide, all but 1,323 of which had no symptoms. That included 19,989 in Shanghai, where only 329 had symptoms.

Complaints about food shortages began after Shanghai closed parts of the city on 28 March.

2.66210099 A medical worker collects sample swab sample from residents in a lockdown area in the Jingan district of western Shanghai.

Plans called for four-day closures of districts while residents were tested. That changed to an indefinite citywide shutdown after case numbers soared. Shoppers who got little warning stripped supermarket shelves.

City officials apologised publicly last week and promised to improve food supplies.

Officials say Shanghai, home of the world’s busiest port and China’s main stock exchange, has enough food. But a deputy mayor, Chen Tong, acknowledged getting it the “last 100 metres” to households is a challenge.

“Shanghai’s battle against the epidemic has reached the most critical moment,” Chen said at a news conference. He said officials “must go all out to get living supplies to the city’s 25 million people.”

At the same event, a vice president of Meituan, China’s biggest food delivery platform, blamed a shortage of staff and vehicles. The executive, Mao Fang, said Meituan has moved automated delivery vehicles and nearly 1,000 extra employees to Shanghai.

Another online grocer, Dingdong Maicai, said it shifted 500 employees in Shanghai from other posts to making deliveries.

2.66154555 A worker in protective gear prepares to deliver food in a cart which has the words “Food delivery for the elderly” in the locked down Jingan district. PA PA

Li Xiaoliang, an employee of a courier company, complained the government overlooks people living in hotels. He said he is sharing a room with two co-workers after positive cases were found near his rented house.

Li, 30, said they brought instant noodles but those ran out. Now, they eat one meal a day of 40 yuan (€5.70) lunch boxes ordered at the front desk, but the vendor sometimes doesn’t deliver. Today, Li said he had only water all day.

The local government office “clearly said that they didn’t care about those staying in the hotel and left us to find our own way,” Li said. “What we need most now is supplies, food.”

After residents of a Shanghai apartment complex stood on their balconies to sing this week in a possible protest, a drone flew overhead and broadcast the message: “Control the soul’s desire for freedom and do not open the window to sing. This behaviour has the risk of spreading the epidemic.”

The government says it is trying to reduce the impact of its tactics, but authorities are still enforcing curbs that also block access to the industrial cities of Changchun and Jilin with millions of residents in the north east.

While the Shanghai port’s managers say operations are normal, the chair of the city’s chapter of the European Chamber of Commerce in China, Bettina Schoen-Behanzin, said its member companies estimate the volume of cargo handled has fallen 40%.

Some large factories and financial firms are having employees sleep at work to keep operating. But Schoen-Behanzin said with no timetable to end lockdowns, “some workers aren’t volunteering any more.”

Residents of smaller cities also have been confined temporarily to their homes this year as Chinese officials try to contain outbreaks.

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    Mute MollyMsalone
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    Apr 6th 2020, 7:00 AM

    Great idea from an Post.

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    Mute Mark Walsh
    Favourite Mark Walsh
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    Apr 6th 2020, 7:20 AM

    I was in SuperValu shopping this week. I saw a lot of people who were definitely over 70.
    Some seem to have no choice but to go out, collect pensions, go shopping for food, fuel etc.
    It’s next to impossible to get an online delivery slot for shopping to be delivered.
    You can’t ask people to stay in and offer minimal support, the Guards are helping some people, and this is a good initiative. But more needs to be done if the elderly are to be housebound.

    153
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    Mute Sharp Elsi Mate
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    Apr 6th 2020, 8:14 AM

    @Mark Walsh: what p#sses me off is a neighbour of mine in good health and in her mid 30′s is still getting Tesco delivered when she is probably taking a slot from somebody that really needs it, I’m sure she is one of many around the country.

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    Mute karen
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    Apr 6th 2020, 8:50 AM

    @Sharp Elsi Mate: how do you know your neighbour isn’t in an at risk group? It’s not just the elderly. Neighbour may have medical condition you don’t know about

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    Mute Sharp Elsi Mate
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    Apr 6th 2020, 3:10 PM

    @karen: she has been doing it for the last 2 years at least so unless her and her husband could see this coming or are that unfortunate I’d be very surprised. Not to mind the tesco is over 20 miles away and there is a fine big Supervalu on their doorstep. All i am saying is people need to be a bit more sensible.

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    Mute Dónaldó
    Favourite Dónaldó
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    Apr 7th 2020, 3:28 PM

    @Sharp Elsi Mate: is your neigh our high risk?

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    Mute David Dineen
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    Apr 6th 2020, 8:44 AM

    Brillaint idea, as a concconer I hope these ideas are used after the emerengcy. Let’s build a better society where we all are involved in everybody’s care…

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    Mute Ann Moynihan
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    Apr 6th 2020, 1:52 PM

    @David Dineen: absolutely. Cocooning too.

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    Mute Fox&hounddog
    Favourite Fox&hounddog
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    Apr 6th 2020, 2:42 PM

    @David Dineen: that’d be lovely David, but Cant see it happening.
    People are selfish, as long as it doesn’t effect them, they don’t really care.
    Apart from the odd nice person
    And living in a flat most of us don’t even know each other
    Which makes me sad ,
    we just hardly ever see each other

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    Mute Stan Kowalskis
    Favourite Stan Kowalskis
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    Apr 6th 2020, 8:32 AM

    What about the post persons families?the more interaction they have the more likely it is they will get c19.they do have homes to go to as well.

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    Mute John Horan
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    Apr 6th 2020, 8:42 AM

    @Stan Kowalskis: read the last line of the article. In practice they knock on the door and stand back a few metres until the person answers. If they don’t answer then they alert authorities

    40
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    Mute Richard Russell
    Favourite Richard Russell
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    Apr 6th 2020, 11:17 AM

    newspapers are yesterday’s news full of bacteria and virus they should be left on the shelf.

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    Mute Fox&hounddog
    Favourite Fox&hounddog
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    Apr 6th 2020, 2:29 PM

    @Richard Russell: True Also all the food delivered could have germs.
    Everything could. Even if the items are picked off shelves by a person using gloves, that means nothing, gloves still pass the virus from item to item!
    But what else Can We do. There aren’t many solutions
    It seems everything has a risk

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    Mute Dónaldó
    Favourite Dónaldó
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    Apr 7th 2020, 3:30 PM

    @Richard Russell: everything is full of bacteria.

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    Mute skibob
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    Apr 6th 2020, 11:30 AM

    News papers only available in cities and counties just outside Dublin. For those living in the countryside and rural areas, as per usual no service available.

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    Mute Fox&hounddog
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    Apr 6th 2020, 2:51 PM

    I just wanted to put it out there
    my partner is my carer, he had to wait in a Que over 2 and half hours outside Tesco

    He was in Bits by time he got back.
    Then all I wanted to do was wipe everything with anti bacterial wipes.
    Its a very frightening time especially for the more vulnerable amongst us
    I really Feel for them.

    If I didn’t have him, even without him being my carer, I couldn’t Que that long, I have terribly painful bad back and over active bladder!

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    Mute Joe Smith
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    Apr 7th 2020, 1:50 PM

    @Fox&hounddog: Bacteria are different from viruses so anti-bacterial wipes don’t affect Covid-19.

    1
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