For millions of people still locked down in Shanghai, listening to officials tout the city’s victory over COVID-19 and its "reopening” is infuriating.
Some are so frustrated with being confined that conflicts with police have broken out. One compound, sealed off from the world since April 1 and told that lockdown would last at least another 10 days, saw a handful of people detained after they walked out in protest, said one resident, who asked to be identified only by his surname Li, fearful of reprisals for speaking out.
Almost all of Shanghai’s 25 million residents were confined to their homes for two months after the highly infectious omicron variant penetrated the city’s defenses this spring. More than 2 million are still living under various forms of lockdown, while others, meant to be enjoying restored freedoms, find themselves walking on eggshells amid reports — and rumors — about where the virus is lurking.