CNN correspondent in Shanghai says his door was taped over to ensure he abides by city’s lockdown

On Monday, a CNN correspondent who is currently residing in Shanghai, China told the outlet that local authorities put tape over his door in order to check if he exited his home as the city has been placed on its most strict COVID-19 lockdown.

David Culver, the outlet’s international correspondent, added that he had to arrange for an escort if he had any desire to leave his house to pick up food deliveries or even the local government’s grocery handouts.

“I can’t go outside that door, there’s a seal. If I do, physically I could do it, but I would break the seal, and there’s repercussions for that,” Culver said.

He noted that he had to ration out his food supply because both the grocery delivery services and government food handouts have been cut due to the citywide restrictions.

“If you thought Wuhan 2020 was bad, welcome to Shanghai 2022,” he continued. “This has been like no other lockdown. And it’s in the country’s cosmopolitan and most affluent financial hub, of all places.” 

Shanghai, which boasts a population of 26 million residents, has been shut down since April 1, which has turned one of the world’s most bustling financial hubs into a deserted town.

In his firsthand account that was published the same day as his interview, Culver noted that the grocery deliveries arrive once every couple of days and include items like Chinese medicine to pieces of vacuum-sealed pork. He said the amount given was not enough to feed one person for a day.

Culver went on to say that he had resorted to placing more than one grocery order at the same time. He said that when one delivery arrived at his gate at midnight, he had to wait until 6 a.m. for those overseeing his compound to retrieve it for him.

The only times he has been allowed to leave his apartment are for coronavirus tests, which are being conducted in his residence’s compound.