Zhang Chen, 30, said her four-year-old son and his 84-year-old grandmother were taken to quarantine on Sunday, along with her in-laws, and she was worried about their living conditions.

According to Ms Chen the meals are meagre and the building is dirty, with not enough toilets and no showers. 

“They are patients, not criminals. But here it’s like they’re criminals, and being sent off to suffer,” Ms Chen said.

The streets were still eerily quiet on Friday despite the easing of restrictions beginning April 13 that released more than 10 million people. 

“I have no idea whether I will ever be allowed to go out again in my lifetime, I’m falling into depression,” one user said on Weibo.

Another user asked: “How much longer is this going to last?”

Many people were barred from leaving their neighborhoods, while others had nowhere to go because most factories, shops and offices were closed.