(residents shouting in Mandarin)
- [Reporter] Residents in China's financial hubs
say they're going hungry.
(residents shouting in Mandarin)
(speaker speaking in Mandarin)
Many people have been unable to leave their homes
to buy food since late March.
(speaker speaking in Mandarin)
That's because Shanghai officials began a citywide lockdown
to tame the country's biggest COVID-19 outbreak
in the past two years.
Some residents have also taken to social media to complain.
- It has prompted a lot of people in Shanghai to ask
is this the right policy?
Is the cost of this lockdown too great?
- [Reporter] As authorities try to tame
the fast spreading Omicron variant,
the growing public discontent could challenge
Beijing's commitment to its dynamic zero-COVID policy.
Shanghai officials have acknowledged its strategy
of lockdowns, mass tests and quarantines
has made it difficult for tens of thousands of families
to secure food.
So, they've rolled out a massive effort
to deliver necessities.
Local officials said there were
around 11,000 couriers on the job
and delivery companies had about 100,000 other workers.
(plastic rustling)
Volunteers have also been going door to door
to deliver other supplies including medicine.
Plus people from across the country have been pitching in
including from as far as Xinjiang,
where workers package bread for residents.
There's also fresh vegetables
coming from Shanghai's neighboring province.
But some residents have said
that they're not getting enough food from these deliveries.
- There are some people who are doing okay
but there's also unquestionably people who are are living
on basically the barest minimum of food
with no protein and very little in terms of quantity.
- [Reporter] For instance,
a family of two received this package
from the government on the second day of the lockdown.
The father and daughter
said it was all consumed in about four days
and the next delivery came about two weeks later.
So to feed themselves,
some people are getting up as early as 6:00 am
to place an order on grocery delivery apps.
At a time when supplies are more likely to be available.
(massager rumbling)
(speaker speaking in Mandarin)
- This man's wife recorded him using a massage gun
to help him more quickly hit the pay button
to get his order through before others.
Some residents have teamed up with neighbors to buy in bulk.
- We've got over 150 parcels in here.
We ordered for the whole building again.
- Or they're bartering with each other.
(speaker speaking in Mandarin)
The struggle to get food has sparked anger
in some communities.
(residents shouting in Mandarin)
This video was posted on Weibo,
China's equivalent of Twitter,
and it was later taken down.
It shows local police trying to contain a crowd of people.
(residents shouting in Mandarin)
Weibo didn't respond to a request for comment.
These food shortages have largely stemmed
from the city's strict COVID restrictions
which have confined many of the city's
food delivery workers at home.
And some have chosen not to work for fear of getting sick.
Also for new supplies to enter the city,
truck drivers need to test negative.
- Once you come into the city
and you've delivered your supplies, it's not clear
if you can necessarily get into the neighboring province
to be able to pick up another run of supplies
because the authorities won't necessarily allow you
into the province because you've just come
from a high risk zone.
- Shanghai officials have pledged to do better.
(speaker speaking in Mandarin)
- [Reporter] However, the anxiety
of not having enough to eat is raising
some collective memories from China's famine
about five decades ago.
- China's modern history has had a lot of instances
of deprivation and of quite serious lack of access to food.
This is a 21st century twist on that
but it has reminded people
of the importance of having stockpiles.
- [Reporter] And the situation in Shanghai
has prompted some people
in other cities to prepare for the worst.
On Weibo the topic,
"What to prepare if I suddenly receive a quarantine notice?"
has attracted more than 200 million views.
And Chinese state media published this diagram
which outlines the items you need to prepare
to stay at a quarantine center.
Even though Shanghai officials announced
that they have lifted some measures despite record cases,
people have started to question more than just
the government's handling of the food shortage.
(speaker speaking in Mandarin)
- There is a great degree of dissatisfaction
about whether or not it's the wisest way
to deal with this challenge.
This dynamic zero- COVID policy
of really just trying to eradicate the virus
every time they see it anywhere within China.
If it ends up overwhelming Shanghai,
it's going to challenge that idea that China's government
has been more successful than the rest of the world
at containing COVID.
- [Reporter] But the experience in Shanghai
hasn't prompted any indication from Beijing
that it's ready to rethink its COVID strategy.
The head of China's COVID-19 Response Task Force
said its dynamic zero COVID policy was scientific
and would bring maximum results.
So, with little sign that Beijing is willing to adjust
its pandemic strategy,
some residents have taken to their balconies.
(residents shouting in Mandarin)
To shout encouragement and hope that the lockdown ends soon.