People in China’s business capital complain that online grocery stores are often out of stock. Some received government food packages with meat and vegetables for a few days. But without any information on when they will be allowed out, the stress increases. Zhang Yu, 33, said her eight-member household eats three meals a day, but has limited noodles to lunch. They did not receive government supplies. “It’s not easy to maintain this,” said Zhang, who starts shopping online at 7 a.m. local time. “We read in the news that there is (food), but we just can not buy it,” he said. “Once you go to the grocery shopping app, it says today ‘s orders are full.”

The cost of the “zero-COVID” strategy is increasing.

The allegations embarrass the ruling Communist Party during a politically sensitive year, when President Xi Jinping is expected to try to break with tradition and give himself a third five-year term as leader. Shanghai underlines the growing human and economic costs of China’s “zero-COVID” strategy, which aims to isolate any infected person. A staff member walks into a makeshift hospital on Thursday to be used for COVID-19 patients in Shanghai. (AFP / Getty Images)
On Thursday, the government reported 23,107 new cases nationwide, all but 1,323 of which had no symptoms. That included 19,989 in Shanghai, where only 329 had symptoms. Allegations of food shortages began after Shanghai closed parts of the city on March 28.

Residents had minimal warning

The plans called for a four-day closure of the neighborhoods, while residents were being monitored. This changed to indefinite downtime across the city following an increase in the number of cases. Buyers who received a small warning undressed the shelves of supermarkets. City officials apologized publicly last week and promised to improve food supplies. Officials say Shanghai, home to the world’s busiest port and China’s main stock exchange, has plenty of food. However, a deputy mayor, Chen Tong, acknowledged on Thursday that getting the “last 100 meters” in households is a challenge. “Shanghai’s battle against the epidemic has reached a critical juncture,” Chen told a news conference, according to state media. He said officials “must make every effort to provide living supplies for the city’s 25 million people”. A police officer in a protective suit watches a street on April 1 as the second two-stage lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 began in Shanghai. (Aly Song / Reuters)
At the same event, a vice president of Meituan, China’s largest food delivery platform, blamed staff and vehicle shortages, according to a copy released by the company. The executive, Mao Fang, said Meituan had transported automated delivery vehicles and nearly 1,000 additional employees to Shanghai. Another online grocery store, Dingdong Maicai, said it had relocated 500 employees in Shanghai from other positions to deliveries. Li Xiaoliang, an employee of a courier company, complained that the government ignores people living in hotels. He said he shares a room with two of his colleagues after positive cases were found near his rented house. Lee, 30, said they brought noodles, but they were over. Now, they eat one meal a day with 40 yuan ($ 7.90 Cdn) lunch boxes ordered at reception, but sometimes the seller does not deliver. On Thursday, Lee said he had only water all day. The local government office “made it clear that they did not care about those staying at the hotel and letting us find our way,” Li said. “What we need most now are supplies, food.” After residents of an apartment complex in Shanghai stood on their balconies to sing this week in a possible protest, a drone flew over and transmitted the message: “Control your soul’s desire for freedom and do not open the window to sing. the behavior runs the risk of spreading the epidemic. “ The government says it is trying to reduce the impact of its tactics, but authorities continue to impose restrictions that also bar access to the industrial cities of Changchun and Jilin, with millions of residents in the northeast.

Cargo shipments to the port

While Shanghai port managers say operations are normal, Bettina Schoen-Behanzin, president of the city chapter of the European Chamber of Commerce in China, said its member companies estimate that the volume of cargo has been reduced by 40 %. A police officer wearing personal protective equipment is sprayed with disinfectant in Shanghai’s Jingan district on Thursday. (Hector Retamal / AFP / Getty Images)
Some large factories and financial companies put employees to sleep at work to keep them running. However, Schoen-Behanzin said, without a timetable for ending the quarantine, “some workers are no longer volunteering.” A resident of the Minhang district in west Shanghai, who asked to be identified only by her last name, Chen, said that the five-member house was given state food packages on March 30 and April 4. They included chicken, eggplants, carrots, broccoli and potatoes. Vegetables are now available online, but meat, fish and eggs are hard to find, Chen said. He entered a “shopping club” neighborhood. Minimum orders are 3,000 yuan ($ 593 Cdn), “so you need other people,” he said. “Everyone is organizing to order food, because we can not count on the government sending it to us,” Chen said. “They are not reliable.”