Children, pregnant women and the elderly are being held in special quarantine camps in China – no concessions to anyone suspected of having COVID-19.
The tiny iron buildings contain thousands of people suspected of being infected with the coronavirus. The draconian measures, the government believes, will help prevent the spread of the ubiquitous Omicron, Beijing has a policy of “zero tolerance” to covid, according to the Daily mail.
Today, 20 million people in the Middle Kingdom are locked in their homes after Anyang and Yuzhou joined the quarantined 13 million Xi’an. Residents of these cities are prohibited from leaving their homes, even to buy food. Anyang, home to 5.5 million people, was locked down late Monday after 2 cases of omicron infection were found in the city.
The media report that they are sent to quarantine camps on suspicion of infection, regardless of age or pregnancy. Videos showing living conditions in tiny boxes can be seen on social media. There are only the most necessary things – a bed and a toilet, and workers in full protective equipment distribute food. People are here for two weeks.
Residents of the Mingde 8 Yingli residential complex say that the order to move to the quarantine camp followed at midnight on January 1, 30 buses were already waiting below for their transportation. According to conservative estimates, about 1,000 people were transported. On the Internet, people comment on the move:
“There is nothing here, only basic necessities … Nobody came to check on us, what kind of quarantine is this?” “We were transported at night, more than a thousand people, many of us are elderly people and children.” “They didn’t take any proper action and just casually placed us.”
Leaving the camps is strictly prohibited. One man, for example, was severely beaten by guards for trying to go out and buy buns. It is no easier for the inhabitants of isolated cities. In Anyang, Yuzhou and Xi’an, people are not allowed to go outside, and all shops are closed except for those selling basic necessities.
It is not clear how long Anyang’s isolation will last – it was announced as a measure to facilitate mass testing of residents. This is a standard procedure in China’s strategy to identify and isolate infected people as quickly as possible.
Compared to 2020, since the closure of Wuhan and Hubei province, the current blockages are much larger. With the Winter Olympics approaching (February 4), authorities are doing everything possible and impossible to try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus to other parts of China.
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