Covid-shaming pits neighbour against neighbour in locked-down Shanghai

Residents stand on a street waiting for nucleic acid test during lockdown amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, in Shanghai, China. With no end in sight to a lockdown that for some has lasted four weeks, frustrations are also mounting behind the shuttered gates of the city’s tower blocks, often playing out within WeChat message groups. — Reuters

SHANGHAI: The tensions of lockdown have exposed divisions among Shanghai residents, pitting young against old, locals against outsiders, and above all, Covid-negative against Covid-positive people.

Shanghai’s 25 million people, most of whom live in apartment blocks, have forged new communal bonds during the city’s coronavirus outbreak, through barter and group buying and setting up food-sharing stations.