Highlights
- More than 200,000 positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the locked-down city of Shanghai since the start of March
- Many Shanghai residents have been able to organise group home deliveries of medical and food supplies while others have experienced shortages
- Leaving mainland China for Australia during a nation-wide surge in COVID cases requires precision planning, according to one man who returned to Australia with his family on Tuesday
As China battles its worst COVID-19 outbreak in two years, Australians who have called Shanghai home have left the financial metropolis, citing the Chinese communist government’s strict “zero-COVID” policy as a strong reason for going.
Timothy, who declined to give his real name due to fears for his family in mainland China, arrived safely back in Australia on Tuesday morning after what he describes as a “nerve-wracking” 72-hours leaving a citywide lockdown for a flight destined for Sydney. 
His family’s plan to depart Shanghai in late March was postponed due to positive COVID cases in their gated community.
Timothy* walked through an almost empty Shanghai airport on Monday. Source: Supplied
As a result, all residents within the community had to remain confined to their apartments for seven days.
A second attempt to leave the financial hub went without a hitch but Timothy says that each step had to be planned to precision, otherwise they would have risked missing another limited Australia-bound flight.
“It was about finding the right moment to get the PCR tests done to hop on a plane,” he said.
Within a 72-hour window, Timothy, his wife and young child had to test negative to a PCR test outside in the community.
He then had to organise a private driver to take him to a private hospital for the test results to be translated into English for Australian authorities, then organise private transport to get to the airport.
Leaving Shanghai and returning to Australia requires a negative PCR test among other requirements. Source: Yomiuri Shimbun
“So long as you can have approval to leave your complex and proof of flight, you can go,” said Timothy.
But I was nervous because flights get cancelled. We didn’t want to be stuck again.
Any delay to the process would have meant they would have had to rebook their tickets and restart the whole process again.
Timothy recalls the empty streets and airport as his family waved goodbye to their city where new cases rebounded to more than 25,000 on Wednesday.
Neighbours’ goodwill amid strict lockdown
Millions are reportedly struggling to get daily food and medical supplies and are relying on community-led online group orders for delivered goods.
One Shanghai resident, who did not want to be named for security concerns, told SBS Chinese she was worried about running out of rice.
Shanghai residents have complained of food shortages while officials deal with the Omicron-fuelled surge in cases. Source: Supplied
This is the first time I’ve gone hungry. Every day I worry I won’t be able to get access to food.
The resident said she had started growing vegetables on her balcony, which has also helped her mentally cope with the city’s lockdown, which started on April 5 and has since been extended with no indication of an end.
Residents have also revealed neighbours’ acts of kindness since the beginning of tight restrictions.
“My neighbour offered to share his rice and spices to anyone in urgent need. When I went over for rice, oil and sugar, I realised he had hardly any food supplied left for himself,” she said.
“I tried offering him money, but he wouldn’t take it. Money is no use in this case.”
A Shanghai resident has turned to gardening on her balcony to deal the mental pressures of being in lockdown. Source: Supplied
Concern for pets
Many people in the city of 25 million have been caught off guard and had only enough stock to last them five days [the initial lockdown period], particularly residents who aren’t used to cooking at home and instead rely on delivery food orders.
Shanghai authorities apologised to the city’s residents last Thursday admitting that they had failed to thoroughly prepare for the outbreak battering the city.
“We sincerely accept your criticism and are endeavouring to make improvements,” Shanghai government official Ma Chunlei said.
Another resident, who also didn’t want to be named, told SBS Chinese that they weren’t in crisis mode.
“We have enough vegetables but those who cannot cook have urgently asked for help in our community’s WeChat [social media] group,” she said.
Workers in PPE unload groceries from a truck before distributing them to local residents under the COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai. Source: CHINATOPIX
She said she is concerned for the wellbeing of her family cat after seeing a viral video of Chinese COVID officials killing pets over unfounded concerns they spread the virus.
“Seeing the video of the Corgi being killed and knowing about elderly people struggling makes you feel powerless,” she said.
The resident told SBS Chinese she wasn’t afraid of getting sick but worried about how her cat would be treated if she tested positive and had to be moved into a mass quarantine facility.
Not all residents have been struggling to get essentials.
“Some people are more selfish, and some are more desperate,” says Timothy, who adds that his friend was able to get steak delivered to his complex recently.
Concerns for pets are high amid the Shanghai lockdown. Source: Supplied
“They are in all the crazy stories coming out. You are always going to find extremes of everything.”
The city police department have called residents to “fight the epidemic with one heart … and work together for an early victory.”
The choice to leave China and relocate back to Australia
It’s been three years since Timothy has been able to get back to his native country, Australia.
Having watched Australian authorities deal with COVID outbreaks from afar, he says all governments have made mistakes.
“The truth is that everyone’s trying to find a way to fix it and not every way works,” he said.
Residents in apartment blocks have been resorting to online group-buying to purchase groceries and necessities. Source: Supplied
Timothy, a Chinese-born Australian citizen, says he counts himself as lucky to have skipped the worst of both country’s peak outbreaks and harsh lockdowns.
He initially had plans to move back to Australia a year ago for his child’s education before the Omicron-fuelled outbreak in Shanghai, but Timothy says Australia’s closed borders made it hard for him to enter the country.
“Australia was making it super difficult for even us to go back. At one point I was frustrated with the government because I couldn’t even call the embassy to ask how I could go back,” he said.
As a result, Timothy stayed in Shanghai where people were until recently having “lunches with no masks on.”
Then, when Australia opened its international borders in February, Timothy found himself caught between restrictions.
Australians enjoy the outdoors although there were over 50,000 new Covid cases recorded nationwide on Wednesday. Source: AAP
We’re lucky, in some ways, that we weren’t caught at the brunt of both.
After touching down at Sydney Airport, Timothy recalls the moment he sensed renewed freedoms.
“It was great. At least just being able to walk out [freely] and just go wherever you need to go,” he said.
