“Cabbage cigarettes” – isolated residents in China forced to exchange food

In some posts on social networks, residents have also been seen offering technological equipment in exchange for food.

About 13 million residents have been locked in their homes since December 23, and according to the rules, they do not even dare to go out of their homes to buy food, reports REL.

In recent days they have expressed many complaints across social networks.

Authorities have said they have supplied food to residents, but some have said their supplies are being depleted and have not yet received assistance.

On platforms like Weibo, people have been seen exchanging cigarettes for some cabbage, detergent in exchange for apples and hygiene products in exchange for vegetables.

“People are exchanging food and other things inside the same building because they no longer have enough food in their homes,” a Wang resident told Radio Free Asia.

The medium also reported that another man wanted to trade his phone for a quantity of rice.

“Desperate citizens have reached the age of exchange – potatoes are being traded for cotton swabs,” said one Weibo user, while another described the situation as “a return to primitive times.”

Some have even been optimistic and have hailed their neighbors for the goodwill of sharing supplies.

The city of Xi’an has become the epicenter of the new pandemic outbreak in China, so local authorities are implementing tough measures, which have been criticized on the website.

Among the latest incidents reported was that of residents of the Mingde 8 Yingli building, who were told on January 1 – after midnight – that they had to leave their homes and go to quarantine centers.

Residents were also shocked by some unverified posts, which went viral on January 3rd.

A resident of Xi’an City has claimed that his father died as a result of a heart attack, but he was not admitted to hospital due to the pandemic situation.

The hospital has not yet commented on such a thing.

This is the worst pandemic outbreak in China in months, as the country implements its zero-coronavirus case strategy.

On Tuesday, authorities put another city in complete isolation, after identifying three cases of infection, without symptoms.

About 1.1 million people in Yuzhou – a city about 500 kilometers from Xi’an – will now have to stay inside their homes alone.

As of Monday evening, almost all cars have been banned from moving around the city, and all shops and businesses – except for groceries – will have to close.

The austerity measures are being implemented shortly before China’s Lunar New Year is celebrated and before the Winter Olympics, which will be held next month in Beijing.

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