Chilling pictures show Chinese police building CAGES around people’s homes in world’s strictest Covid lockdown

CHINESE citizens have been caged in after police built fences outside people's homes overnight in the world's strictest Covid lockdown.

Authorities installed the green fences without warning in Shanghai, China, in order to restrict the population's movement.

Shanghai's 25 million-strong population have already been shut in their homes for weeks as officials try to curb the city's worst Covid surge to date.

The city reported a record 39 Covid deaths on Sunday, in addition to more than 21,000 new infections.

Anyone who lives in a sealed area cannot leave their homes whether or not they have the virus.

Images show government workers in white hazmat suits patrolling the city and closing off entrances with green fencing have spread on Chinese social media.

Citizens have already been pushed to the brink this month after babies and young children were separated from parents during the

And the latest development has come at a shock to residents after being caught off-guard by authorities.

The two-metre high fences are being put up around buildings designated as "sealed areas" where at least one person has tested positive for Covid.

A foreign national told the that green fencing appeared in his own residential complex three days ago.

He claims that the main gate to his compound was chained up three weeks ago after he believes one of his neighbours tested positive.

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous said: "There is a long corridor in our compound, and within the long corridor they put up another green fence three days ago. No one told us the reason it was installed."

"No one can get out. I feel helpless. You don't know when the lockdown is going to end.

"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."

And a director of documentary films in China, Chris Pc, posted a thread on Twitter explaining what he had heard from local residents.

“We all have heard stories of residents and even entire buildings refusing to go outside for mass testing. Some are fatigued, others fear that being together brings infection risks.

“Some think sealed-off entrances like this are to separate these folks. The hope being that other residents of a community would not be punished for the lack of co-operation from a few. This might be wishful thinking.

“It’s usually extremely crowded on sunny weekend afternoons. To see these fences up with little official explanation is confusing a lot of people."

The draconian rules come as a result of China's zero-Covid pursuit with the aim of eradicating the virus from the country completely.

Officials managed to keep infection levels relatively low at the beginning of the pandemic, but later lockdowns have struggled to contain more transmissible variants.