Brazilian Camila Félix, along with her three dogs, has been locked in an apartment in Shanghai, China for more than 40 days. (10) By Tuesday she could come down for a few minutes for a quick walk with the animals in the condominium.
However, on Wednesday (11), the security guard at the apartment complex where he lived said via megaphone, “No one can leave the apartments, this building is on red alert for covid.”
Now he can only open the door of his house and take out the garbage to get emergency supplies such as food and hygiene products sent by the government.
“The situation is very unpredictable. We don’t know how long it will last. The lockdown began on 1 April and was supposed to last four days, but more than 40 days have passed,” he told BBC News Brasil.
Residents should be tested for covid every day. Camila says she’s been over 50 since the quarantine started. If the person tests positive, they are taken to a “quarantine center” by the Chinese authorities.
“The conditions are unhygienic. Thousands of people stay in the same place. They say there is no bathroom to shower, the spotlights are on 24 hours and people wait for at least 14 days until the test is negative,” he said. Camila, who has lived in China for eight years and worked in the human resources field of an American startup.
However, the Brazilian’s biggest fear is not facing the harsh conditions of the quarantine centre. “What will happen to my dogs if they come to isolate me? They’ll be home alone.”
Strict lockdown rules
Shanghai has been in quarantine for seven weeks after cases of Covid-19 started to rise rapidly. The city, with a population of 27 million, is experiencing the largest coronavirus outbreak since January 2020, when the pandemic began.
According to official data, more than 90% of cases are asymptomatic. According to the city’s official newsletter, Shanghai Fabu, on May 8, which is divided into green, yellow and red zones by the number of infected, 80 people were hospitalized in serious condition and 415 more with severe symptoms.
A total of 536 COVID-related deaths were recorded in Shanghai this year. The victims were, on average, 78.9 years old, and most were unvaccinated or had co-morbidities.
In some areas of Shanghai, residents are required to stay indoors and food distribution is not allowed. They rely on materials sent by local authorities.
It is forbidden even to go out to seek medical help in the hospital. Emergencies can only be accepted with prior permission.
The area where Camila lives is classified as a green zone, which in theory would allow residents to roam the neighborhood. But the committees that manage the apartments can make independent decisions and set stricter rules. That’s what happened where the Brazilian lived.
“The committee decided it was best not to leave the house and work like a red zone. So even if I want to buy something, there is no way I can leave my apartment,” he says.
The condominium is managed by a neighborhood committee. And this committee, like everything else in China, is linked to the Chinese Communist Party. Each committee then takes independent decisions on a case-by-case basis. They have the safe behavior to create rules that they think will best serve the areas they govern. They are the authority now.
Camila Félix, Brazilian based in Shanghai
Government-issued supplies are collected and disinfected by security at Camila’s apartment. They are then placed at the residents’ door so that they do not leave the house to buy food.
The gate to the site, which consists of 140 buildings, is guarded day and night by security guards who prevent unauthorized entry and exit of the residents.
“My floor flat has four main doors, where everyone can enter and exit in normal situations. Currently only one door is working due to the pandemic and there is a security guard there checking the entrance 24 hours a day.”
concern for animals
According to reports, in some parts of Shanghai, neighbors of people with Covid were taken to quarantine centers despite testing negative and being asymptomatic.
Because of this, Camila Félix is afraid of leaving the dogs behind when she is picked up by paramedics at some point, even though she does not leave the house.
This is what happened to a neighbor who tested positive and had a cat. Desperate when contacted by the authorities, the woman applied to a neighbor to keep the animal while she was in the quarantine centre. But no one wanted to risk walking out the door.
“She was desperate in the residence’s WhatsApp group, but no one agreed to take care of her cat. So I sent her a direct message and said that I agreed to stay with her, because I can isolate the cat in a room. I’m in her place,” says Camila Félix.
The neighbor left the cat outside the apartment, and Camila picked it up shortly before the woman was taken to the quarantine centre.
He would not return to the apartment until three weeks later. “When he got back, I put the cat on his doorstep and he picked it up. To this day, I haven’t seen the neighbor in person. But I felt like I had to help,” she says.
“I had a few crying spells thinking about what would happen to my dogs if I caught Covid.”
Attempt to return to Brazil
Tired of going through many isolated periods during the two-year covid pandemic and fearing the unpredictability of the quarantine in Shanghai, Camila Félix wants to return to Brazil.
But he doesn’t have a passport because he gave the document to the Chinese department responsible for renewing his work visa.
He was going to get his passport back in a week, but the waiting period is already 50 days. “Theoretically the visa would be ready on April 6 but I haven’t heard any news since. Immigration services are suspended and they are not responding to me,” he says.
Camila bought a ticket to return to Brazil at the end of May, but fears she won’t be able to leave China.
“I need my passport to go back. The Brazilian consulate was helpful, tried to get information but even they couldn’t get any news about my passport.”
Like it or not, I’m in a foreign country and I can’t criticize the way they do business. I know the efforts of the volunteers. Many have been living on committees for more than a month without going home. But what I can do is fight for my own sake, for the sake of my animals, and help people as much as I can so we can get out of this.
Camila Félix, Brazilian based in Shanghai
source: Noticias
