2022 Video of Shanghai Lockdown Eviction Clashes Resurfaces Amid HMPV Spread
The Claim
China declares state of emergency due to new virus.
News posted on
Emerging story
Social media users widely circulated a video clip purporting to show Shanghai police clashing with citizens while enforcing isolation and lockdown measures to stop the spread of HMPV.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the viral video and found the claim to be misleading.
After conducting a thorough reverse image search, Misbar’s team found the video to be outdated.
2022 Video Shows Clashes Over COVID Lockdown Evictions in Shanghai
Contrary to social media users’ viral claim, the video is unrelated to the recent spread of HMPV across China. Misbar’s team traced the circulating footage back to April 2022. The BBC uploaded the video to YouTube on April 15, 2022. According to the video's description, it shows clashes between police and residents being forced out of their homes in Shanghai during the city’s Covid lockdown.
In addition, an X user shared the same footage online on April 14, 2022, criticizing the Chinese government, saying, “The Shanghai police who works for the Chinese Communist party arrested the innocent people who don't allow them to move the covid patient into their leasing apartment......The Chinese Communist party forced the tenant out of their house.”
Other media outlets also reported on the same clashes at the time. According to reports, millions remained confined to their homes as Shanghai combats a new virus outbreak.
Authorities placed anyone testing positive in quarantine, but with over 20,000 new cases daily, they struggled to secure enough space. The zero-Covid policy faced increasing pressure due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
HMPV in China Poses No Significant Global Risk
China is facing an outbreak of human metapneumovirus (HMPV), a respiratory illness surging alongside a global rise in infections this winter.
Unlike the coronavirus behind the COVID-19 pandemic, HMPV is a known virus with established risks and countermeasures.
The virus poses a risk to vulnerable groups, including babies, older adults, and individuals with weakened immune systems. Symptoms such as cough, runny nose, congestion, and shortness of breath typically resolve within days.
However, severe cases may require hospitalization, particularly in children, the elderly, and those with chronic lung conditions or immune deficiencies.
Despite the outbreak, Chinese officials are closely monitoring the situation, and the virus currently poses no significant global risk.
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