Shanghai reportedly installs high metal barriers around people's homes to prevent them from leaving: 'They might as well just burn us all inside our homes'

The city of Shanghai is installing metal barriers around people's homes so that they are unable to go out in public, according to reports.

At least 25 million people are under an indefinite lockdown due to COVID-19 mitigation measures at the time of this reporting.

What are the details?

Local authorities have installed high fences and metal barriers outside private homes to prevent residents from leaving their homes amid the city's latest COVID-19 outbreak, reports say.

According to a report from Insider, the move has inspired anger and sadness, with one social media user quipping that the move is nothing more than a fire hazard.

"They might as well just burn us all inside our homes," the user tweeted on Chinese social media network Weibo.

What else is there to know about this?

The BBC reported on Sunday that authorities erected many of the structures in the city's "sealed areas," in which at least one person tested positive for COVID-19.

Those living inside a sealed area are forbidden to leave their homes even if they do not have the virus.

A foreign national told the outlet that "no one can get out."

"I feel helpless," the unnamed man said. "You don't know when the lockdown is going to end."

He added, "If your area gets fenced off, what if a fire breaks out? I don't think anyone in their right mind can seal people's homes."

The BBC's report added that a video highlighting the city's dire conditions is making its way around the internet.

"The six-minute montage features unverified audio clips of the local population criticizing inadequate food supplies and complaining about medical conditions," the outlet noted. "'We haven't eaten for days now,' one person can be heard pleading in the video."

Insider reported that on Sunday, the city recorded 16,983 symptomatic COVID-19 cases and 2,472 asymptomatic cases. The BBC noted that the city recorded 39 COVID-19 deaths on Sunday.