The Chinese city of Chongqing has deployed massive Covid in its central domain amid a record heat wave, leaving millions of citizens in the sun for hours as they struggle with excessive temperatures and electricity shortages, media reported.
The strict zero-covid measures enacted by the Southwest megacity to involve an emerging outbreak are the most demanding situations for citizens already recovering from a crippling heat wave, severe drought and wildfires, CNN reported.
Chongqing reported Covid cases on Wednesday, bringing the total to 146 since mid-August.
On Wednesday, the government ordered more than 10 million people in the city’s central urban districts to undergo a mandatory covid test, as the temperature in Chongqing topped 40 degrees Celsius, CNN reported.
More than 3,800 transit sites have been established in the central districts. Photos on Chinese social media showed citizens forming long lines at the sites, some fainting from the intense heat.
A widely circulated video showed a street filled with many other people lining up for the covid test, most dressed in a face mask and some ventilations to relieve the heat. In the background, plumes of wildfire smoke rose above the pale orange horizon, CNN reported.
“It’s 43 degrees Celsius, the other people of Chongqing are already being pushed to the limit,” said one resident on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform.
In order for citizens of the central districts to comply with the test order, the government placed the fitness code on everyone’s cell phone in orange. The code will only turn green after completing the Covid test.
A green code is a prerequisite for daily life in China, where freedom of movement is dictated through a government-imposed color-coded formula for the spread of the virus, CNN reported.
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