Desperate IKEA shoppers are fighting their way out of the Shanghai store as security forces try to lock them up after A customer came into contact with a Covid patient
- The security forces closed the store in the Xuhui District and tried to lock the shoppers inside
- A customer had come into contact with a boy who had tested positive for Covid-19
- Although no one in the store tested positive, authorities closed the doors
- Tens of millions of Chinese citizens went into lockdown earlier this year
IKEA shoppers fought their way past security guards trying to lock them into the store after a person came into contact with a Covid patient.
The video shows guards struggling to restrain people behind double doors leading to Shanghai’s Xuhui district before crowds burst past them and storm through the opening.
A six-year-old boy has tested positive after returning to Shanghai from Lhasa in Tibet, deputy director of the Shanghai Health Commission Zhao Dandan said on Sunday.
One of the customers at the store had come into contact with the boy, prompting authorities to rush to close it and lock up the rest of the shoppers inside.
Health officials are under pressure to enforce China’s “zero Covid” policy, which quarantines residents if an online app says they’ve been in contact with someone who has tested positive.
Earlier this year, tens of millions of Chinese citizens were under strict lockdown.
The video shows guards struggling to restrain people behind a buckled door in Shanghai’s Xuhui district before the crowd rushed past them and stormed through the opening
IKEA shoppers were forced to fight their way past security forces trying to lock them into the store in accordance with China’s Covd-19 lockdown rules
One of the customers in the store had come into contact with a six-year-old boy who had contracted Covid, prompting authorities to rush to shut it down and lock the rest of the shoppers inside
The doors leading out of the IKEA store are pictured before the attempted closure
Pictured is the IKEA store in Xuhui district of Shanghai before the Covid incident
Those who have been to the Ikea store are now required to quarantine for two days, followed by five days of health surveillance, Mr Zhao said, according to the BBC.
China can track who’s been in the store with its Covid surveillance app, which all Chinese residents must carry with them.
China locked down Shanghai in early 2022, subjecting its largest financial hub to food rationing and months without sunlight.
Areas with zero Covid cases over a two-week period will be allowed to engage in “reasonable activities,” China indicated in April.
Walking in the park, catching the bus and even entering your own home are now subject to Covid apps approval in some parts of China.
But even one Covid case can result in a citywide lockdown, with four Hainan cities beginning lockdowns in August.
The beach resort of Sanya has been under an indefinite lockdown since the beginning of the month, and the nearby city of Haikou is closed for business from 7am to 8pm.
Anyone who wants to leave the country must test negative five times within seven days.
China reported more than 2,000 local Covid-19 cases on Friday, according to Bloomberg, after infections rose in China’s tourism hub Hainan.
China has slipped into an economic slowdown after months of lockdown restrictions.
Factory and retail activity slowed in July, data out of China showed, even as the central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates to support the economy.
Crowds of Hainanese locals queue at a nucleic acid testing site amid Sanya’s lockdown measures
The southern Chinese seaside resort of Hainan is the country’s largest and most popular holiday destination