supermarket rush ahead of new lockdown in Chengdu

With our correspondent in Beijing, Stephane Lagarde

Car trunks full to bursting with basic necessities, back seats on which heaps of meat are piled up, supermarket customers who climb on the stalls to pick up as many vegetables as possible, as with each announcement of containment in China , these images make the rounds of the media and networks.

Following the announcement of the new health restrictions, residents of Chengdu braced for a long siege. Ms. Wang is a secretary in a state-owned company. She also rushed to her neighborhood grocery store, before the clock struck 6 a.m. She didn’t have never seen so many people. “I went there for the meat, she says. It was really the rush! Lots of people on the shelves and queues at checkouts. We took big bags, but there wasn’t a lot of meat. »

A price increase

Since August 12, the capital of Sichuan has reported more than 900 Covid contaminations. ” The epidemic situation is complex and serious said Fan Shuangfeng. Due to the mercury spike, the swimming pools were taken over and people could not wear masks and protect themselves effectively “, adds the director of the emergency office of the Center for epidemic prevention and control of Chengdu in remarks reported by the local press. Food prices have increased, says this Beijing teacher, whose daughter is confined to Chengdu: “In quarantine, my daughter can order food, but it’s very expensive. Prices have skyrocketed! Rice is almost 1.50 euro per kilo! »

Heat wave, torrential rains and zero Covid, the confinement should last at least until Sunday September 4, according to the authorities. Pending the results of the tests, a screening campaign has been ordered for the entire population.