Shanghai in CHAOS as residents rush to flee the city following rollback of COVID-19 restrictions

 he Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has officially rolled back most of its Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions in Shanghai. But this sudden relaxation of restrictions only created chaos as residents en masse packed up their bags and fled the city amid concerns that Beijing could force them back into their homes.

Shanghai’s 25 million residents spent 76 days almost entirely inside their homes due to the CCP’s failed “zero-COVID” strategy of dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks. (Related: China censoring videos of people being dragged out of their homes and into quarantine camps.)

On Tuesday, May 31, the Communist Party Shanghai Committee, the city’s most powerful political body, published a letter online claiming that the lockdown was successful and thanked the citizens for their “support and contributions.”

The lockdown officially ended at midnight on June 1. The end of the lockdown was met with celebrations, with residents going on Chinese social media websites to post videos of people taking their cars out for the first time in months, going out for food and drinks and hanging out on popular sites around the city.

“Just like the lockdown in the beginning, the unlocking also came suddenly,” said Daphne, a Taiwanese marketing specialist who has lived for years in Shanghai because of work. “Everyone has a feeling of ecstasy and disbelief, and many communities were setting off firecrackers and fireworks.”

In the morning, the celebrations turned into scenes of exodus as residents packed up their bags to leave the city as many remained anxious that the CCP or the local communist party could reverse the rollback of restrictions at any moment....<<<Read More>>>...