🚨 Puxi, Shanghai lockdown thread 🚨

It’s the night before lockdown. I’m in Xuhui district. We’ve just been called outside by loudspeaker to be given instructions on how to get our PCR tests tomorrow - at the end of the road.

#shanghai #puxi #lockdown https://t.co/ylygWJI94A

Genuinely thought it might be vegetables 😞

Meanwhile my friend in Huangpu sent me these pictures. Everyone in the housing compound has been given vegetables. On the last pic, my friend says “No idea what this is but have two of them now” 😆. #shanghai #lockdown https://t.co/OXWAMsSjtB

Meanwhile in Pudong…

(Welcome to my thread @MartinShanghai) https://twitter.com/MartinShanghai/status/1509495870215000065

Day one of the #Puxi Shanghai lockdown and it’s time for my first PCR test. A short burst of freedom and fresh air. #shanghai https://t.co/bjs2DOZYQ9

Mass testing all down the street #shanghai https://t.co/DU2KmFpoNo

Testing done. Just one swab to the throat only. Quick and easy. #shanghai #puxi https://t.co/9L7SZpU8Sl

Some pictures of mass testing in Xuhui district today.

#shanghai #shanghailockdown #puxi #china https://t.co/sK14EOpKBS

Streets obviously incredibly quiet. Apart from those tested, I saw delivery riders (yay), street cleaners, garbage people (in full hazmats), police and traffic wardens. Lovely to hear the birds. #shanghai #shanghailockdown https://t.co/ch4rgTC3MC

Day two. A knock at the door and a delivery from the authorities. Not vegetables as expected or needed, but frozen shrimp (!!!), german sausages, wontons and lateral flow tests.

@MartinShanghai I see your SPAM and I raise you… https://t.co/fBWMbM7XfO

Announcement to all residents by megaphone to bring garbage down. One wonders if it’s wise to call everyone out at once in a small compound 🤷‍♂️. One of several megaphone announcements. Another earlier asked us to do a lateral flow test before dinner. https://t.co/8FX6FID5dj

Day three. The megaphone man is back telling people not to leave their houses, walk their pets or come downstairs to collect deliveries - he’s recording the message to be repeated on loop. #shanghai #lockdown #puxi https://t.co/jjysJHIuFt

Knock at the door, and it’s a lateral test. The second one of this lockdown so far + one PCR. Sorry, this thread is a bit boring. Apart from drinking beer and cooking this weekend, nothing much else has happened. https://t.co/1obUH67Ob6

https://twitter.com/ep_lawrence/status/1510744296751697926

Day four. Another PCR test. Enjoying a brief bit of freedom on this lovely sunny day. Moved on by police for loitering.

#shanghai #lockdown #shanghailockdown https://t.co/al6AUtm5Ic

8.30pm on day four and it’s a food delivery of vegetables and frozen chicken drumsticks. The lockdown clearly isn’t lifting as planned tomorrow, though I think most people had already gathered that. #shanghai #lockdown https://t.co/sItNCDABOl

My past three days. Still no luck on ordering more food / essentials. https://twitter.com/EP_Lawrence/status/1511165066657550340

Day 6. Up at 5.30am for the third day in a row to try and order food. Not happening. Back to sleep until a bang at the door. This time the guard is in full hazmats. There’s been a positive case upstairs so it’s a PCR test for everyone - this time inside the compound. #shanghai https://t.co/DtbX7dksix

As far as I can gather, if there's a positive case in your compound then it means another definite 14 days of lockdown. If at the end of that 14 days there's further positive cases, then it's *another* 14 days. This is what a colleague has recently experienced... #Shanghai

It seems that there's a '7 day health monitoring' after the 14 days. If anyone tests positive during the 7 days then we're back in for another 14.

However, it doesn't look like the broader Shanghai lockdown will be lifting soon anyway...

Getting a packed suitcase ready with clothing and essentials just in case I’m hauled off to a quarantine centre or medical facility #shanghai #shanghailockdown https://t.co/FdTksuCeev

Not expecting to get hauled off, but given how things seem to change so quickly I’m getting prepared should the worst happen.

From last night but forgot to post - Stairs outside the apartment sprayed with disinfectant. It transpired today that somebody upstairs tested positive. They were taken away this morning. https://t.co/jgKNqKKXKV

Day 7. Up again at 5.30am to try and get a food delivery through as the apps shops orders and deliveries at 6am. #Shanghai https://t.co/vzeAlANIE7

Couldn’t add this video to the thread for some reason. Tried a few shops and apps but no joy. May get back up for 8.30 to try another. Not desperate as have enough food for a few days - but out of things like eggs, rice, fruit etc. Wouldn’t mind some fresh milk too. https://twitter.com/EP_Lawrence/status/1511832897732644864

Important to note that some people are getting orders through. Some friends in Pudong have managed to get deliveries and others have managed with mass ‘group buy’ orders directly from shops and wholesalers. Lots of factors - time you order, area of the city, the shop, the app etc

Day 10 of my Shanghai lockdown and another PCR test. This time the swabs were put into individual vials - rather than several together to be batch-tested. Saw a lady spraying her daughter down with disinfectant before and after the test. Lovely day to get outside. #shanghai https://t.co/NzR7iMPV3o

Day 10 continues. 7.45pm. The sound of a megaphone outside and the announcement to come down to collect a delivery. Today it’s a big bag of rice (yay), Chinese traditional medicine, noodles, a load of lateral flow tests and some masks. #shanghai #lockdown https://t.co/HgaIWReEjk

Seems I messed up my thread. Did manage to finally get an order delivered a few days ago. Also had a a couple of small government food handouts on the 2nd and the 4th. https://twitter.com/ep_lawrence/status/1512042780008513536

Day 12. Another Covid test. Everyone called out at once by megaphone. #shanghai #lockdown https://t.co/0U92MS9VtQ

Our block has been requested to come downstairs tomorrow morning for another PCR test. To be able to do the test, we’ve first got to do and show a negative lateral flow test… #shanghai #lockdown

I’m 12 days days into lockdown. So far I’ve done 5 PCR tests (6 tomorrow) and 5 lateral flow tests (6 tomorrow). So that’s just two days of the #Shanghai lockdown without a Covid test of some sort.

Day 13, 8am. Being summoned for *another* PCR test. Have to first do a negative lateral flow test before coming. Other than PCR tests and collecting 2 govt food packs, I’ve not been out in 13 days. Perhaps there’s concern these mass tests are spreading the virus? #shanghai https://t.co/OcSVqyFfuQ

Authorities making sure everyone’s properly distanced. Haven’t seen much fuss about this during any of my previous tests here… #shanghai #lockdown #day13 https://t.co/77gOuvdVhV

We’ve been advised to now rinse our mouths, have a shower and change our clothes post-PCR test…

Day 14 of #lockdown and it’s another PCR test. I’ve literally only left the building for PCR tests + to collect a couple of deliveries over the past two weeks yet I’ve been tested all but one of the days. Had to first do a negative lateral flow before being allowed out. #shanghai https://t.co/cOFFInkwUO

Another day, another Covid-19 test. Day 16 of what’s starting to feel like an endless lockdown and testing routine.

#lockdown #shanghai #shanghailockdown https://t.co/lIaFNYsdXE

Day 17. No alarm clock required. Woken up by megaphone calling me out for yet another PCR test. #shanghai #shanghailockdown #china https://t.co/Z3MnslQHtZ

Happy Easter folks ✌🏻

#shanghai #lockdown https://t.co/nlsUqiAOgi

Forgot to add that yesterday we had a sudden influx of government deliveries. Perhaps they’d figured the previous day’s food wasn’t great. Suddenly fresh veg, milk, more pork, tofu. Fully stocked. We’re told there’s toiletries and cleaning products coming today. #shanghai https://t.co/agm9ogTuGI

Aaaand this announcement means another delivery today… https://t.co/XocB8n2ezc

Toiletries, and laundry detergent. Government handouts seem to have improved significantly. https://t.co/GXUQA6M6vl

Day 18 of my Shanghai lockdown (some others have been locked down much longer) and it’s another PCR test. It’s my 6th PCR in 7 days.

Fortunately it’s down the street which means fresh air, some limited freedom and a walk. #shanghai #lockdown #shanghailockdown https://t.co/dPzHZ9fFqW

After 18 days stuck inside, plus the 14 and a a half I did in quarantine just before lockdown to get back into China, I'm desperately ready for a long run and sustained amounts of vitamin D from the sun. How long can this go on for? At the moment, we just don't know...

Just been been told that we’ll be having a PCR test a day for at least the next three days. I’ve just had 6 in 7 days. The only thing I’m going outside for is these PCR tests, so I’m still a little lost as to how I may have contracted Covid-19 - other than from these tests…

Day 19, and we’ve been given a box of 25 lateral flow tests (the same ones I used in the UK). I guess this means we’re here for quite a while longer then…

#shanghai #shanghailockdown https://t.co/eXUZ2ap2iw

Another PCR test down the street. Deep. Sorry, this thread has become a bit Groundhog Day… https://t.co/4xJnZTHL9M

A friend across town who’s also receiving daily PCR tests messaged earlier. He’s scared to go down to the mass testing site. People in his building who’ve already tested positive are being told to come down for the daily testing at the same time as everyone else.

Needless to say that many in the compound have been refusing to come down for the mass testing over the past couple of days for fear of catching the virus. Instead they've asked repeatedly if PCRs can be conducted at the door. I've heard many similar stories across Shanghai.

Another day, another test. #GroundhogDay #shanghai https://t.co/gP3cefUwoW

It seems that ordering food and getting deliveries has become a little easier. Still tough, but buying in bulk (and often at an inflated price) seems to work. Managed to order some food off an app earlier too! Hopefully logistical difficulties are starting to even out.

Day 21 of the 4 day lockdown. Two food deliveries from local authorities today. Government handouts have certainly become more frequent where I am - and these greens much fresher than the last. Still no end of lockdown in sight… #lockdown #china #shanghai https://t.co/zkmHyUWmol

Aaaand my 17th PCR test in just 21 days!

This time made some new friends who asked me to take pictures of them. Taking plenty of stills - some of which you may see popping up on the BBC News website. #shanghai #lockdown #china https://t.co/AvGoHfyGma

Day 23 of lockdown. The daily PCR tests have now stopped for the next few days and we’re back to a lateral flow test a day. Already missing that 30 minutes in the sun it brings me. The past few days have felt hard, but today I’ve focused on cooking and cleaning. Feeling better.

If I also count days spent in government centralised quarantine upon return to China in mid-March, this is my 38th day inside. I had only three days of freedom between quarantine and lockdown. Like many others, I naively thought lockdown would be just for four days... #Shanghai

Day 24 of lockdown. Managed to get some apples last night from a supplier. Price per apple (including delivery cost) ¥12.5 or £1.50!

Outside of occasional free govt handouts, many foods and essentials (even via group-buying) are heavily inflated. #Shanghai #Lockdown

Day 25. I spoke too soon. Yet another PCR test. This is feeling like an utterly pointless exercise now. In nearly a month of lockdown, I’ve literally only left the house for these tests and to collect food from the gate. This my 18th test in 25 days. No end in sight… #shanghai https://t.co/OILPAkN4q2