A Shanghai resident behind barriers sealing off an area under COVID lockdown. Photo: Aly Song/Reuters
In a society that generally respects authority, Chinese citizens are rebelling against COVID lockdowns that have brought food shortages, family separations and lost wages, Reuters reports.
Driving the news: Videos on social media show citizens scuffling with health workers and screaming in anger from their apartment windows.
Arrests and detentions for COVID-related rule-breaking surged in March, according to a search on the Weibo social media platform for police statements, posts by state agencies and state media reports.
- Most infractions involve citizens trying to skirt rules such as reporting travel on a health app, falsifying COVID test results, and sneaking out of locked-down neighborhoods.
Assaults on health workers also surged.