The 35-year-old, who hails from the Toronto area, her husband and their three children, and millions more in China’s most populous city, are in another lockdown as the government tries to curb the spread of COVID-19. “Occasionally, I start to feel like a very heavy burden, like I’m about to collapse,” said Luo, among Canadians interviewed by CBC News, as China continues to pursue a zero-sum strategy for COVID-19. place throughout the pandemic. Luo said her lockdown began on March 10. It took a day and then they were told to stay home again. During this period, she tried to stay focused on the well-being of her children, who are nine, five and three years old. The Luo family goes for almost daily tests in Shanghai, China’s most populous city, which has maintained a zero COVID-19 strategy throughout the pandemic. (Submitted by Racelle Luo)
“It’s really hard not to let them go out and run,” he said. “You are worried about your children’s mental health.” While some measures are relaxing in some areas, it is clear that a lockdown of this magnitude has depleted the nerves during the pandemic, which was officially announced by the World Health Organization two years ago. “The belief that China can be zero for COVID-19 is definitely impossible,” Luo said. “It’s a dream, and even if they get to COVID-00, it will definitely come back.”

Portions of food are a necessity

Shanghai is China’s global economic hub, with a population of about 26 million. The city has reported a record 3,590 symptomatic COVID cases as of April 15, along with 19,923 asymptomatic cases. A health official warned on Wednesday that Shanghai did not have the virus under control, despite easing restrictions. Shanghai residents are struggling to find food supplies such as meat and rice under anti-coronary controls, fueling frustration, especially in light of reports from online grocery stores that they are often depleted. With the Chinese government handing out portions of food to residents, the families with whom CBC News spoke described the range of quality of the products they receive. These are some of the food items given to the Luo family as China distributes diets during the lockdown. (Contribution / Racelle Luo)
Some of the sparse objects Luo received were rotten. Ruthie Chua, on the other hand, got fresh vegetables and, once, a whole chicken. Some of the portions of food that Ruthie Chua and her family received. Chua and her husband, Daniel Nickle, who have two teenage sons, are from the Toronto area and moved to Shanghai in 2006. (Submitted by Ruthie Chua)
Chua and her husband, Daniel Nickle, are from the Toronto area and moved to Shanghai in early 2006. The couple and their 17-year-old and 13-year-old sons have been locked up for almost two weeks and face a separate lockdown weeks earlier. It is very difficult to find food.- Ruthie Chua
“It’s very difficult to find food,” Chua said. Chua and her 17-year-old will enter Chinese grocery apps in the morning and try to fill their e-carts with food before stocks run out. “The first time we did it, we did it [to get] about 20 things in our cart. We ended up with three things: carrots, coriander and a jug of water. “And we were excited about it,” Chua said. The family dealt with the situation to its liking. “Life goes on. I guess the big difference is that it just takes a lot more time to think and plan for the food supply,” Chua said.

Food becomes objects for exchange

Matt Doyon, his wife and their three-year-old daughter have also been in lockdown for weeks. He was emotionally exhausted, even physically, I just could not get out and walk.- Matt Doyon
“I can not deny that it was emotional exhaustion, even physical exhaustion, I just could not go out and walk,” said an English teacher living in Mississauga, OD, before moving to Shanghai. He said it was particularly difficult for his little daughter. Matt Doyon’s three-year-old daughter, who appears here, can not go out to play during the lockdown, which can be frustrating. Doyon moved to Shanghai from Mississauga, Ont. (Submitted by Matt Doyon)
I had to say, “No sweetie, sorry, we can not go out and play.” While his family was able to stock up on some items before he got stuck in their apartment, Doyon made jam and bread and traded for some items. Some of the bread Doyon bakes during the lockdown weeks. Sometimes, exchanges continue with others when they are missing certain items. “People help themselves as much as possible,” he says. (Submitted by Matt Doyon)
When the family ran out of water, a friend of Doyon who had bought four 20-liter jugs of water did not drink coffee. A self-proclaimed java demon, Doyon was able to make a trade. “People help themselves as much as possible,” he said. As for a light at the end of the tunnel, Doyon said it was not clear – he expects to stay in at least until early May. “Agree [with the COVID-19 zero strategy] personally? “No, I think it is a big reduction in human rights,” he said. “But I think it’s safe and it will work in the end? I have to hope so. My daughter is too young to be vaccinated right now.”