Shanghai authorities have ordered most of the city’s 16 districts to undergo two rounds of testing from Tuesday to Thursday after a case of the new sub-variant BA.5.2.1 was found in the community on July 8.
New Omicron sub-variants have been reported in several Chinese cities, including the capital Beijing, the northeastern port city of Dalian, and the central city of Xi’an, which was closed for seven days due to the outbreak.
The sweltering heat has made mass testing even more agonizing for residents, some of whom have to queue for hours, as well as Covid workers who are covered head to toe in airtight personal protective equipment.
Pictures of workers in protective suits lying on blocks of ice have circulated on Chinese social media, and health experts have warned of heatstroke among Covid workers who spend long hours outdoors in thick protective clothing.
Earlier this month, Shanghai experienced a spike in infections due to an outbreak linked to a karaoke bar. More than 400 cases have been reported in the last 10 days.
The growing outbreak has raised fears that the commercial center is returning to mass lockdown just weeks after its residents emerged from two months of grueling home confinement.
As of Tuesday, 240 districts in Shanghai have been marked as medium or high risk areas and placed under quarantine.
Shanghai officials have repeatedly denied that a citywide lockdown is imminent, but this has not convinced residents, who noted that authorities also made similar announcements in March ahead of the previous lockdown.
On Monday, two district committees in Shanghai said residents should “prepare enough food and medicine at home for 14 days, just in case.”
In response to the hype, a district committee worker told the state-run Health Times that the proposal was intended to prepare residents for the growing outbreak, as close contacts, as well as secondary contacts with an infected case, could also lead to a district lockdown.
“Okay, let’s spend our whole lives in fear of food shortages and in the shadow of hoarding essentials,” reads a comment on Weibo, a Chinese Twitter-like platform.
“More than three years have passed, when will this end? How many people have three years in their lives? Enough!” said the other.
