Chinese residents angry about a strict two-week lockdown which doesn't allow people to leave their homes for food have been filmed screaming out their windows.
Videos shared online of people screaming from high-rise buildings at night in capital Shanghai went viral last weekend.
They were heard making desperate cries to be allowed out as the country took a zero Covid policy to crack down on recent outbreaks.
Several were said to have ran out of food and urgent medical supplies.
Sharing footage on Twitter, author and radio host Patrick Madrid said: “This video [was] taken yesterday in Shanghai, China, by the father of a close friend of mine.
“She verified its authenticity: People screaming out of their windows after a week of total lockdown, no leaving your apartment for any reason.
“The translation she gave me: “It’s Shanghai, everyone is screaming, started with a couple now everyone is screaming, after a week of lockdown, something is going to happen, no one knows when this is going to end.”
“He says they can’t even step outside their apartments.”
In reply, a follower said: “My son and his partner have been stuck in their apartment for 10 days in Shanghai.
“Can't even leave to walk their dogs. Food and water ran out today. Trying to order provisions, to no avail.
“Families with children are desperate.”
Another responded: “As we feared yesterday, we have new restrictions.
“Before we were allowed to leave our building (but not community) to get deliveries - no more; now we are not allowed out of our apartment door.”
The sudden closure of most businesses and orders to stay at home caught several people out as they did not have enough food and supplies to last the lockdown.
A video circulated on Saturday showed people in the Songjiang district breaking into a supermarket and carrying away cartons of food.
Another showed people thrusting their fists into the air in front of what appeared to be government employees wearing hooded white protective suits.
Some Shanghai residents stepped out of their homes for the first time in more than two
weeks today as the city took tentative steps towards easing COVID-19 lockdown amid mounting worries over the economic impact of the strict curbs.
People who test positive for coronavirus were placed into sprawling temporary quarantine facilities criticised by some as crowded and unsanitary.
Shanghai said on Monday that more than 7,000 areas - which local media reported as home to about 4.8 million of its 25 million residents - had been classified as lower-risk after no new infections for 14 days.
Lei Zhenglong, of the National Health Commission, told a briefing in Beijing: “The epidemic is in a rapid increase phase, with social transmission still not brought under effective control.
“The forecast for the next few days is that the number of infected people will remain at a high level.”
Liu Min, vice head of Shanghai's commercial commission, added efforts were being made to reopen supermarkets, convenience stores and pharmacies, but non-essential businesses will remain suspended.
