Sheep herding in Shanghai, 2022

Abstract

The spring of 2022 brought an unexpected chill, and along with the arrival of “biting sheep”—in the Chinese language, there is a phonetic resemblance between the word for “sheep”(yang) and “positive”(yang) in nucleic acid testing. Suddenly, sheep seemed to be cropping up everywhere. On 27 March, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Shanghai announced a lockdown divided by the Huangpu River as the boundary. Pudong (the right bank of the river) was the first to be placed under lockdown for four days, followed by Puxi (the left bank) for another four days. That night, residents went into a frenzy, rushing to buy groceries. 1 April—April Foul’s day— streets and alleys in Puxi were also sealed off. Stores were shuttered, factories ceased operations, public transportation came to a halt, intersections were guarded, and all residents were confined indoors. On 5 April, the anticipated reopening did not happen, and the city remained under lockdown. Wooden boards, metal fences, and other materials were used as barriers to “prevent viral intrusion.” Residents were unable to go outside to buy food or get medical care. Within residential complexes, continuous testing efforts were organized. And yet the number of positive cases kept rising, resulting in mandatory transfers to makeshift isolation facilities. Fear swept through the population. From the end of May, Shanghai initiated a gradual reopening, shifting from a complete city-wide lockdown to localized and targeted control measures. On 12 December, the last restrictions were lifted. The populace embraced their newfound freedom, but this was accompanied by a surge in positive cases, while pharmacies struggled with persistent shortages of medication and testing kits. The winter of 2022 was feverish.