“It started with a cluster of people in Wuhan, China.” “‘It started in a wet market—yes a bat—or a fish—I’ve heard it’s from a lab”—speculations of where and how one the 21st century’s worst pandemic began have grown rampant in the past few years. Regardless, today we know that Covid 19 has spread to all world superpowers, and infected more than 500 million people. Your peers may say reported cases are going down everywhere—after all, hasn’t the number of infected people plummeted? Perhaps in America, but on China’s mainland cases of Covid-19 have skyrocketed, and many cities have been on strict lockdown since late last March—specifically in Shanghai. There, it seems as though the remnants of the coronavirus will always taint their lives, even with their decreased number of reported cases. In response to the outbreak in Shanghai, officials completely locked down the city. Streets remained desolate and eerily quiet due to a “zero tolerance” policy allowing for only essential workers and those with special permission to move throughout the city. Shanghai’s regulations were so strict that citizens complained about lack of food and were barely scraping by with the very bare essentials provided by China’s government. In addition to this, the separation of parents and children who tested positive for covid and residents’ complaints and fears of the situation have provoked conversations and condemnation of China's response to Covid-19.
Since Shanghai’s initial lockdown in late last March, foreign businesses have noted their struggles to bring their employees back to factories. CNBC news states, “U.S. and European businesses say that less than half of their employees are able to return to work.” despite the fact that “The extent of Covid controls has varied by region.” (Many factory workers in Shanghai can’t get back to work, even after Covid controls ease). Several foreign companies and organizations have said that the new lockdown regulations provide for a challenging fight to get their workers back and immense labor shortages. Still, a whitelist of specific companies (relating to auto-mechanic, chemistry, and manufacturing) have been prioritized and China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced that 666 major businesses mainly of the (European Union Chamber of Commerce in China) will be allowed to resume. Hopefully, as China’s reported covid cases continue to drop, regulations will fall with them and life will return to normal for citizens in China.
MLA CITATIONS:
Cheng, Evelyn. “Many Factory Workers in Shanghai Can't Get Back to Work, Even after Covid Controls Ease.” CNBC, CNBC, 22 Apr. 2022, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/22/china-covid-lockdown-workers-in-shanghai-struggle-to-get-back-to-work-.html.