Protests erupted in the Chinese city of Ürümqi on Saturday after a fire at an apartment building killed at least ten people on Thursday. Residents could not get out of the apartment in time as the doors were closed due to the strict coronavirus measures in the city.
Video footage shows groups of people walking the streets of Ürümqi on Saturday, demanding freedom. Press Agency Reuters writes that protesters en masse chanted “stop the blockade” while throwing their fists in the air.
Residents of Xinjiang, the province where Ürümqi is located, cannot leave their homes for 100 days. China has a zero-covid policy, where a series of infections can lead to very tough measures. In Ürümqi, about a hundred new cases of the virus have been discovered every day in recent days.
There were no casualties on Thursday only because the doors of the apartment building were closed, but also because people didn’t dare to leave the building due to the strict rules. Also, it took rescuers a long time to reach the building, because fences had been put up due to the blockade.
The Ürümqi authorities say that the corona measures have not hindered anyone in the apartment. They argue that the building’s residents knew too little about the fire danger.
