Shanghai has become a test case for China’s strict COVID-19 policy
Lu, 99, was a long-time resident at Shanghai’s Donghai Elderly Care hospital, her loved ones secure that she was getting round-the-clock care at the city’s largest such centre.
Lu, whose relatives asked that she be identified only by her surname, had coronary heart disease and high blood pressure. She caught COVID and, though she had no symptoms, was being transferred to an isolation facility, her family was told on March 25. Her frustrations reflect those of many with China’s no-tolerance COVID policy. Everyone testing positive must quarantine in specialized isolation sites, whether they show symptoms or not.
A Donghai staffer who answered the phone on Sunday declined to answer questions, directing Reuters to another department, which did not respond to repeated calls. A relative of Donghai patient Shen Peiying, who gave his surname as Qiu, said he believes the quarantine policy contributed to the April 3 death of the bedridden 72-year-old.
These steps, including sending patients to quarantine sites in neighbouring provinces, have been greeted by the public with a mixture of awe at their speed and horror over conditions, prompting some Shanghai residents to call for home quarantine to be allowed.