Desperate residents of a Chinese city set to be plunged into a Covid lockdown as part of strict measures brought in by Beijing were spotted panic-buying crucial supplies.
Officials have ordered Chengdu’s 21million people be locked down after 157 new infections were detected.
Videos from the city in southwest China show people stripping stores of food and bulk buying everyday items, for fear of what the future will bring.
Supermarkets and local stores quickly sold out of meat and vegetables.
The city’s Government said on its official WeChat account it was imposing the lockdown over the weekend to “minimise people’s working lives.”
It will last for at least the next week - although officials may opt to extend it.
The Government’s statement added: “Internet users agreed, leaving comments that strengthening the prevention and control of the epidemic on weekends in some districts of Shenzhen is the fastest and most effective way to break the chain of virus transmission."
One resident, a head-hunter who gave her name as Candice, said she was dismayed by the news.
She added: “The fear of going places, the constant disruption to work, has to be worse than the virus itself.”
Several social media platforms were flooded with furious messages by residents complaining about the measures.
Others were unhappy about long queues at a Covid testing facility while others taking part in daily testing claimed the city’s IT system had failed.
Pictures showed queues of people stretching for several miles as they waited to be tested at one of the 24 hour facilities.
Sophia Li, who runs a homestay business says her earnings have slumped in recent times.
She added: “With the current lockdown, there's literally no income.
“I'm not alone, lots of self-employed people have been under mounting financial pressure."
During the lockdown only one family member is allowed to leave the home each day for essentials and must show a negative Covid result.
Once they arrive at shops they must show a green result on their Alipay Health code app.
Earlier this week a passenger sparked fury when he was pictured taking a Covid rapid antigen test on the train .
A commuter was photographed waiting for his results on the T1 line train in Sydney, Australia .
The rider who was next to the man spoke of the horror that ensued after they saw the man holding the test firmly in his hands on public transport .
Posting the photo to Reddit , the user wrote: "I want to take a bath in hand sanitiser . Guy on the T1 train this morning casually taking a rapid antigen test (RAT) for his spicy cough."
To the shock of the original poster, the man in the picture can also be seen wearing his face mask incorrectly - while a nearby passenger is not wearing one at all.
