While China’s state media tout Shanghai’s “victory” over COVID-19 after a two-month lockdown of the city of 26 million, residents blast the authorities for their draconian lockdown measures, which left many with adverse mental health symptoms, according to a recent study.
“The Chinese Government has vigourously defended its dynamic zero COVID-19 strategy. But China’s lockdowns have had a huge human cost. This cost will continue to be paid in the future, with the shadow of mental ill-health adversely affecting China’s culture and economy for years to come,” according to a report published last month by the medical journal The Lancet.
Furthermore, 35 percent of Chinese respondents in a national survey on psychological distress “experienced distress, including anxiety and depression,” the report said.
A Shanghai resident surnamed Fang (pseudonym) told the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times on July 4 that the prolonged lockdown and arbitrary restrictions have left him and some of his neighbors with “psychological scars.”
He said the psychological trauma caused by the extreme lockdown in Shanghai is probably similar to the mental suffering that Americans experienced during the Great Depression.
‘Endless Humiliation:’ Resident
Fang told the publication that residents lost their dignity due to harsh COVID measures.
“Some people starved during the lockdown. But most suffer mainly because they have no freedom. We are not allowed to go out, which is a kind of endless humiliation we have endured.”
“The authorities would just break into your home with disinfectant,” Fang said. “Or they tell you that you tested positive [for COVID], and then they drag you outside, forcing you to give them the keys to your home.”
“Many people also felt humiliated by this,” he added.
Read more: China’s ‘Covid’ Lockdowns Inflict ‘Psychological Scars’ and ‘Endless Humiliation’: Shanghai Resident
