JAKARTA - Tensions due to the strict COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, China are causing divisions among residents, pitting the young against the old, the locals against the outsiders, and most importantly, the COVID-negatives against the COVID-positive.
Shanghai's 25 million people, most of whom live in apartment blocks, have forged new communal bonds during the city's coronavirus outbreak, through bartering and group buying and setting up food-sharing stations.
But, with no end in sight of the four-week lockdown, frustration is also mounting behind the closed gates of the city's tower blocks, which are often played out in WeChat messaging groups.
For one, conflict erupted when a woman who was taken to centralized quarantine, where she tested negative, accused her neighbors of reporting her to the authorities.
It is not uncommon for test results to be shared and positive cases announced in building WeChat groups, as authorities seek to contain China's largest outbreak since the virus was first identified in Wuhan in late 2019.
One US resident was told he would be sent to a quarantine center after results from mixed tests, including his, came back positive last week, sparking panic. The other three people whose samples were in batches were taken to quarantine, but tests at his own home continue to be negative.
"In group chats, they say things like, 'oh are the positive people still here, are the positive people still here?'," he said, declining to give his name.
Older residents, more susceptible to COVID-19, are also more likely to call for the immediate eviction of positive cases from their compound.
"Because the media is exaggerating this disease, and because older people have weaker immune systems, they are more afraid of the virus than young people," said one resident who saw this happen.
Another foreigner who only wanted to be identified as Alexy was suspected by his neighbors to be positive for COVID because his test results failed to upload to his health app.
The building's management tries to block the family's food deliveries unless they share test results at home with other residents, a request some Shanghai residents say is widespread and violates privacy.
"They don't have guidelines and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) services are overwhelmed," he said
"They feel invested with the most important mission in their lives, being able to play the role of doctor, policeman, and judge at the same time," he said.
Several people were denied entry to their homes and ordered to stay in hotels after being released from central quarantine, in violation of state guidelines.
SEE ALSO:
Another foreign resident who tested positive said he was confined to his apartment rather than being sent to central quarantine, much to his dismayed neighbors, who asked him to leave, tried to exclude him from the group's wholesale orders, and even demanded he make a formal apology.
One neighbor called him 'foreign trash', while another spread lies about his mental health, and the housing committee did not help, he said.
"I saw screenshots of them telling residents to keep calling to get me out," he said, adding that he would move out as soon as possible.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
