China: Despite severe lockdown, coronavirus casualties on the rise in Shanghai

Her city Shanghaiwhere severe traffic restrictions have been imposed since the beginning of the month, announced today Tuesday (19/4) seven deaths due to COVID-19 in 24 hours, increasing to ten the total number of victims of the current wave of the new coronavirus pandemic in the Chinese financial capital.

The municipality announced three deaths yesterday Monday, a report surprisingly light in the city where daily around 20,000 new cases of infection by SARS-CoV-2 are confirmed.

The Chinese financial capital, however, has become theater of the worst outbreak of the pandemic in the Asian giant after the outbreak of the health crisis.

From the outbreak of the new coronavirus epidemic, identified in the central China At the end of 2019, Beijing has managed – at least according to official figures – to keep the death toll below 5,000 dead and the number of infections below 190,000. These numbers, dramatically lower than those reported internationally, are generally considered very undervalued.

The Omicron variant of the virus now severely affects the metropolis of 25 million inhabitants, which have been put on indefinite lockdown, sometimes under Spartan conditions.

Vaccination rates are alarmingly low in the elderly. Shanghai health officials acknowledged on Sunday that less than two-thirds of people over the age of 60 had been fully vaccinated and less than 40 percent had received a booster dose.

The seven people who succumbed in the previous 24 hours were between 60 and 101 years old with underlying diseases.informed today the municipality of Shanghai.

According to unconfirmed reports circulating on social media sites, deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Shanghai had already been reported in recent weeks, but this information was quickly censored by the Chinese authorities.

In the past 24 hours, 17,332 asymptomatic cases of SARS-CoV-2 were confirmed, while the number of symptomatic cases increased to 3,084, from 2,417 the previous day.

In an extraordinary announcement now the ΕΟΔΥreported yesterday Monday (18/4) that the existing data from China do not report the existence of a new mutation in the virusa scenario that has also caused concern, or other fact that raises concerns about the course of the pandemic.

Volunteers mobilize to save pets

After testing positive for Covid-19, Sarah Wang was sent to a quarantine center and forced to leave her cat in her Shanghai apartment. Volunteers are now organizing to save the kitten and other pets from hunger and thirst.

The financial capital of China is facing an outbreak of the pandemic, for the first time since the end of 2019. Nearly 25 million people have been trapped inside their homes since early April. China applies a lot strict “zero Covid” strategyin which those who are positive for the new coronavirus, even the asymptomatic ones, are taken to centers quarantine and isolated from the rest of the population. But these people are not allowed to take their animals with them, who are in danger of dying of hunger and thirst, as they can be left for days or even weeks, without anyone taking care of them.

Many also fear that their dog or cat will be euthanized by health authorities, something that has already happened several times in China since the beginning of the pandemic.. The video, which shows a member of the health service hitting a small corgi to death in early April, caused a stir on the internet.

These plans caused a real “panic” in the pet owners, he explained Erin Lee, a 33-year-old American who has started a “rescue operation” of cats and dogs abandoned alone in apartments. Within days, Lee and her friends set up a network of hundreds of volunteers.

“Harsh conditions”

The network found someone who said he was willing to temporarily host Wang’s cat. “She would not have survived after being disinfected in my apartment,” said the 28-year-old. “I dare not even imagine what miserable conditions she would be in, without anyone feeding her,” he added.

In a China where authorities want to prevent new cases of Covid-19, pet welfare is not necessarily a priority. Last year, at least three cats and a dog were beaten to death with sticks or iron bars by members of the health service.

Following the release of the video with the corgi, Erin Lee said she was overwhelmed by messages from owners who “wanted to save their animals at all costs”. The small group of volunteers gathers day and night requests for help, via the internet. They then categorize the information, depending on how urgent each situation is. In the next step, post photos and messages on social media platforms, in Chinese and English, until a good Samaritan can be found to host the animal. Distributors who have the right to move and work despite the quarantine are then sent to pick up the animals from the entrances of the buildings and transport them to their new home.

Birds and reptiles

Volunteers have already helped hundreds of cats and dogs, as well as some birds, fish and reptiles. They also sent food to a closed pet store where about 50 huskies lived, Lee said.

Often, the “exit” of animals from the apartment is a puzzle. Some do not want to take the risk and circumvent the strict bans imposed by the authorities. Another problem is that security men, who are located in almost all apartment buildings in major Chinese cities, often refuse to carry animals to the entrance. And distributors, who usually carry food or other necessities, ask for a higher fee to take care of an animal.

Recently, “rescuers” took an hour and a half to transport a dog from its owner’s apartment to another building just 600 meters away, Erin Lee explained. They also often have to let the authorities know that there will be “negative reactions” and that the image of the country will be tarnished if an animal is abused, said Osian Zhang, who helped “negotiate” the release of the animal. “If we all continue to work together, then emergencies (…) can be resolved within a few hours,” he concluded.