Shanghai Covid: Ikea shoppers flee attempt to lock down store

There were chaotic scenes at an Ikea store in China on Saturday with shoppers trying to escape as authorities tried to keep them indoors.

The store was trying to be locked down as a customer was in close contact with a positive Covid case.

The guards closed the doors at one point, but a crowd forced them to open.

The city was locked down for two months earlier this year.

In line with the country's strict "zero- Covid" strategy, the city of 20 million people has ordered flash lock downs in areas where positive cases have been detected.

Hot pot restaurants, gyms and offices are some of the places where people have been locked down.

The Ikea store was shut down because of a close contact of a six-year-old boy who tested positive after returning from Lhasa in Tibet.

He didn't say when it was thought to have been at the store.

Those who were at the Ikea store have to stay for two days and then be monitored for five days.

The six-year-old boy, who is asymptomatic, had nearly 400 close contacts traced by Sunday, while 80,000 people were ordered to undergo the test.

According to Ikea's customer service, the store was closed due to Covid curbs.

The first Swedish furniture store in China opened in 1998. It now has 35 stores.

Despite its huge impact on the economy, China has stuck to its zero- Covid approach to slowing the spread of the coronaviruses.

Videos last week showing people running out of a building over rumors of an abnormal Covid test result have followed the Ikea scenes.

There were reports of food shortages and poor living conditions in the bicyle centers of the city.

During this time, frustrated residents were filmed screaming from windows and engaging in heated arguments with staff.