Furious mobs loot shops and start fires in China as anger mounts over Covid lockdown

Furious mobs stormed stores and looted food as public anger grows over a harsh lockdown in China.

A clip recorded in Shanghai shows locals brawling with each other after panic-buying turned to looting at a state food supply site.

Residents were also seen knocking down barriers installed by authorities to prevent the city's 26million people moving between streets.

The draconian rules enraging the people of China's largest city include a 22-hour lockdown - with locals forced to stay inside all day apart from a two-hour window when they can collect food and supplies.

Officials have also been separating infected babies and children under seven from their parents to prevent the virus being spread within the family unit.

But the strict measures are doing little to improve surging rates of Omicron in the city - with 23,600 new cases reported by state media on Friday.

In one clip from Shanghai's Songjiang neighbourhood, locals are seen brawling and stealing undelivered food parcels from a site heavily guarded by state officials clad in PPE gear.

Another clip shared on Chinese social media site Weibo showed officials in hazmat suits scuffling with residents pf a Shanghai housing compound as they shouted "Send provisions".

One American expat tweeted about the restrictive measures.

Lawyer Jared T. Nelson said only two people from an apartment are allowed to leave for just two hours each day to collect food parcels. While outside they must wear full protective white suits.

Calling the conditions of the quarantine centres "awful", Mr Nelson tweeted: "No showers, portable toilets only, no hot water, and of course no privacy."

He added that there are regular cancellations and that the situation is becoming worse.

Shanghai's commerce commission department Gu Jun acknowledged the city is facing issues in distributing food supplies.

He called for distribution centres, supermarkets, and pharmacies to take a fulfill orders online as much as possible.

E-commerce company JD.com Inc said on Saturday it had obtained a licence to deliver goods into Shanghai and hosted a livestreaming sales session joined by more than 3.5 million people.

Offered products quickly sold out and the hosts pleaded for patience in response to commentators who complained that they were unable to purchase.

An official also addressed reports of patients recovering from COVID but not being allowed to return to their compounds by neighbourhood committees, emphasizing that there was no evidence of any risk from those that had been discharged.

On Friday, the U.S. State Department said in a travel advisory it was allowing non-emergency staff and their families to leave the Shanghai consulate due to the surge in cases and the impact of restrictions.

It advised U.S. citizens to reconsider travel to China "due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws and COVID-19 restrictions."

The ripple effects of the curbs in Shanghai and other areas are also being felt elsewhere.

Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio said on Saturday it has suspended production after COVID disrupted operations at its suppliers in Shanghai and the provinces of Jilin and Jiangsu.

Of Shanghai's newly reported cases on Saturday, 1,015 were recorded as symptomatic, while 22,609 were asymptomatic.

Shanghai's vice mayor admitted to shortcomings in the city's handling of its COVID-19 outbreak as a record 23,600 new cases were reported on Saturday.

Deputy Mayor Zong Ming was speaking after the United States said it was allowing non-essential staff and their families to leave its consulate in the city.

Zong praised the support from the public and the work of front line workers despite public criticism of strict curbs, but said the handling of the virus needed to improve.

"We feel the same way about the problems everyone has raised and voiced," he told a daily briefing. "A lot of our work has not been enough, and there's still a big gap from everyone's expectations. We will do our best to improve."

Beijing intervened after the failure of Shanghai's initial effort to isolate the virus by locking down in stages, insisting that the country stick to its zero-tolerance policy to prevent its medical system from being overwhelmed.

Elsewhere on Saturday, the southern megacity of Guangzhou - home to over 18 million people - said it would begin testing across its 11 districts after cases were reported on Friday.

In Beijing, the municipal government placed a high-risk area under lockdown after eight confirmed COVID cases in the last two weeks, Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, told reporters on Saturday.