Shanghai has been officially easing a lockdown that kept its 25 million residents home-bound for nearly two months following a decline in COVID-19 cases, but an army of zealous grassroots volunteers who police housing compounds are still banning many people from going outside.
Neighborhood committees around the city are imposing strict and arbitrary curbs on movement, including limits on who can leave their apartment blocks and for how long — amid concerns about a rebound in cases. The moves are seeing simmering frustrations boil over as people push for freedoms that top city officials have promised, while local cadres fear repercussions if residents return home with an infection.
Nearly 85% of Shanghai’s residents, or 21 million people, live in compounds or districts that are free of the virus, according to a tally released by the municipal government. These so-called ‘preventive’ areas were supposed to have the lowest level of movement restrictions, allowing people to leave their apartment complexes and walk around their neighborhoods.