A Victoria man living in Shanghai says swapping food scraps with neighbours and conversing through windows has become part of his routine after a city-wide lockdown to curb COVID transmission stretched from a few days to three weeks.
Stewart Jensen, who relocated to Shanghai’s Changning District two years ago to set up a manufacturing plant for his electric cargo-bicycle company, Baere Bikes, has been confined to his apartment for the past 21 days.
“All it takes is one case in your apartment block and your whole compound is in lockdown for another 14,” he told Postmedia in an email on Thursday.
China’s ruling party has implemented a “zero-COVID” strategy that shut down most businesses starting March 28.
On Friday, the government reported 11 coronavirus deaths and 17,529 new cases in Shanghai. All but 1,931 had no symptoms. Shanghai accounted for 95 per cent of the 18,598 new cases on China’s mainland, of which 2,133 had symptoms.
“With the number of new cases daily and how contagious the new variants are, it seems likely someone else in our area will get infected,” Jensen said.
The shutdown has left him unable to visit the factory, or shop for necessities, including medication and groceries.
“In the three weeks so far, we have received three bags of groceries [from the government], which is not enough to support two people for more than a couple of days. We have to rely on group buying,” Jensen said.
“Some grocery stores have remained open with special licences, but they have large minimum order sizes, such as 60 items for delivery. It’s extremely chaotic. I’m in eight different WeChat groups where everyone is trying to haphazardly pool their money together to buy food.”
Jensen has also been unable to see his girlfriend, Mia, who lives just a few minutes’ drive away. The two have resorted to chatting through FaceTime.
However, the young businessman said his time in isolation hasn’t been all bad.
“I still feel quite lucky,” he said. He has connected with his neighbours by sharing experiences and food through their apartment windows.
“Last week, we lowered our downstairs neighbours some chocolate in a bag with a rope. They put in oranges, garlic and lunch meat, and we pulled it up.”
For some, Shanghai’s lockdown has become dire.
“My neighbour across the hall lives with her elderly parents,” Jensen said. “Her father takes medicine daily and she has told me that they’re nearly out and don’t know how to get any more.”
For his roommate, Matjaz Tancic, a professional photographer, the threat of COVID has hampered his ability to earn a living.
“Since the start of the lockdown, he has been completely unable to work, leaving him now nearly a month with no income,” Jensen said. “This is survivable for an expatriate photographer, but not as much for the army of delivery drivers, cooks and other low-wage workers in Shanghai. There is no financial support offered for people in these situations. They have to rely on their savings.”
China’s response to the COVID resurgence has upset locals, including his neighbours, who Jensen said protested the strict containment measures in signs hung from their windows.
“People here know the risks of speaking out, so the fact that they are publicly denouncing the government means they are very frustrated.”
Restrictions have begun to ease in parts of the city, with some residents allowed out of their homes.
Still, streets in Shanghai were largely empty Thursday despite an easing of restrictions that confined most of its 25 million people to their homes. Many residents still were barred from leaving their neighborhoods.
“A friend was able to deliver us some food the other day, which we had to haul into our apartment on the seventh floor with a rope we hung down to the ground,” said Jensen, who, after recently testing negative for COVID-19, remains in isolation.
“No one knows how long freedom will last. All it takes is another COVID-19 case for the lockdown clock to reset.”
— With files from the Associated Press
