Videos show Chinese authorities locking people inside their homes as Delta surges

影像顯示，隨著Delta病例激增，中國當局將人們鎖在家中

Footage alleges Chinese locked inside homes if they test positive for COVID, violate quarantine


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As China grapples with a nationwide surge of the Delta variant of COVID-19, numerous videos have surfaced on social media appearing to show officials locking residents inside their homes in an apparent repeat of the extreme tactics seen in Wuhan at the start of the pandemic.

China's National Health Commission on Aug. 9 announced 143 new confirmed COVID cases in at least 17 provinces, the most reported since Jan. 20.

Of these, 35 were imported from abroad and 108 were local cases, including 50 in Jiangsu Province, 37 in Henan Province, 15 in Hubei Province, and six in Hunan Province. In addition, the Jiangsu Commission of Health reported two cases in Nanjing City and 48 in Yangzhou City.

That same day, multiple videos began to surface on Weibo, Twitter, and YouTube showing personnel in hazmat suits placing iron bars over the doors of people's homes and hammering them in place to prevent anyone from leaving. In one Twitter post, a man appears to be caught in the act of allegedly breaching his quarantine to "get some air" before returning to his apartment, No. 104.

According to the post, after epidemic prevention authorities discovered the man's infraction, they dispatched officers to seal him inside. The next video shows personnel blocking off the entrance to apartment No. 104.

In a video uploaded to YouTube, the editor claims that if someone is found to have opened their door more than three times in one day, they will be locked inside by the authorities. People dressed in full PPE can be seen hammering large metal bars over a doorway in an X pattern.

Toward the end of another video, originally posted on Weibo and later uploaded to Twitter and YouTube, shows several doors being sealed and a recording being broadcast to residents, declaring: "People must not go out. As soon as they are caught, their doors will be sealed."

Twitter users claim one controversial video shows a young girl dancing in front of workers in hazmat suits moments before she is locked in. However, the official government version by Zhengzhou's Zhengguan News claimed the girl was thanking epidemic prevention staff for their hard work as they prepared to administer a third PCR test on her.

A video uploaded by the Twitter account "Things China Doesn't Want You To Know" alleged that if anyone in the apartment tests positive or is found to be a contact of a confirmed case, the entire building will be sealed for two to three weeks and potentially longer.

In a scene reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic in Wuhan, footage posted on Twitter on Aug. 8 shows people in apartment complexes in Jiangsu's Yangzhou City screaming "Yangzhou jiayou!" (Go Yangzhou!) at the top of their lungs.

Based on road signs, house numbers, and the Mandarin accents of the people in the videos, netizens identified the locations where the videos were shot to be Jiangsu's Nanjing City, Henan's Zhengzhou City, and Hunan's Xinhua County, among other Chinese locales

To discourage quarantine violations, Taiwan issues fines of between NT$100,000 (US$3,500) to NT$1 million to those caught venturing outside. The country has been able to use this deterrent, among other penalties for breaking epidemic prevention regulations, to bring its daily COVID cases down to single digits.