Homelessness and surveillance: the cost of China’s zero-covid policy
In spring of this year a severe lockdown in Shanghai garnered international attention. At the time Coda ran a piece about one man’s nail-biting escape from the city. Shanghai has started enforcing mass covid testing again, while other areas of the country are extending lockdowns, signaling the potential for the return of extreme restrictions.
But for some, namely migrant workers who took the brunt of the spring lockdown, the nightmare never ended.
On July 11 an article about a female migrant in Shanghai went viral on WeChat. Afen had arrived in the city just before the lockdown, and since recovering from Covid has been unable to find a job. Her experience is not uncommon, as many job listings on recruitment sites are now indicating that they will not hire people who have tested positive for Covid. Not just recently, but ever.
With no income, migrant workers are left with nowhere to go but the streets. The plight of Afen, and others like her, garnered widespread sympathy on social media. Even Chinese state media declared that “such practices are outrageous.”