Covid surge rampages unchecked through Shanghai

 

Months after a severe lockdown was imposed on Shanghai to curb the spread of Covid, the virus is now beginning to spread almost unfettered among the 25 million residents of the megacity.

Hospitals are finding it difficult to treat a large number of infected patients, pharmacists are turning away clients with empty hands, businesses are closing due to employee illness, the majority of schools have closed, and public transportation use is drastically declining.

One of Shanghai's largest public hospitals, Tongren Hospital, had an overflow of extremely ill patients that the intensive care unit had to handle. Several dozen clearly ill patients were made to wait outside one so-called fever clinic in the cold. A number of pharmacies close to the hospital were refusing entry to customers, claiming they were out of cold and fever medication.

Employees in the healthcare industry described a catastrophic situation where too many patients and staff were getting sick. Cases have also increased since the city ceased requiring visitors to hospitals to present negative findings from PCR tests.

A medical staff member at a public hospital named Daniel claimed that the city wasn't adequately ready for such a dire situation. The picture has gotten worse, according to a doctor at a private hospital in Shanghai who told Bloomberg a week earlier that everything was peaceful. In terms of illnesses, "Shanghai is starting to resemble Beijing a lot," he remarked.

At one public hospital, a cancer expert said that she was informed that all doctors would have to work in the emergency room due to the high volume of feverish patients and the absence of numerous colleagues. She claimed that the hospital threatened to withhold doctors' incentives as punishment if they didn't comply, despite the fact that the number of missing employees at her own clinic prevented her from affording to transfer.

Residents of the city are being painfully reminded of the hardship and futility of the two-month lockdown, which resulted in food shortages in one of the wealthiest cities in China.

Peter Hu, an engineer for an auto firm and the father of a 2-year-old boy, said, "We are now repeating what we went through during the city lockdown: lack of delivery capacity, no drugs, extremely busy hospitals, kids being sent home." I'm furious that our time during the lockdown has been completely squandered after thinking about everything.

Shanghai's GDP dropped by roughly 14% in the second quarter as a result of the financial and commercial hub's lockdown, which also caused industries to close, consumer spending to decline, and port operations to be hampered. In the first week of June, the lockdown was lifted.

This time around, a large number of residents are staying at home – either because they have Covid or are attempting to prevent it. Due to a decline in the number of passengers and staff illnesses, the subway operator reduced service.

According to Bloomberg's study of the transit statistics, utilization of the Shanghai subway in the most recent week decreased by 51% when compared to the same time last year. This contrasts with a month prior when metro ridership was 18% lower than it had been during the same time three years prior.

Companies are shutting down. Popular restaurant Baker & Spice informed customers that it was no longer serving meals because all of the cooks had Covid at Art Park shopping, just far from Tongren Hospital.

The engineer at the auto manufacturer, Hu, has spent the past week staying in a motel close to his workplace to prevent possibly infecting his family. Hu has tested negative thus far, but he is growing impatient.