Inside a newly-shutdown Chinese hospital deemed the latest COVID-19 outbreak hotspot, overworked nurses started a shouting match with doctors demanding basic measures of protection. In some Chinese universities, students broke down in tears after some were sealed inside their dorms without access to water or toilets. Elsewhere in some rental apartments, tenants were shocked to learn that they had to pack up within hours because what they considered their home would be converted into quarantine facilities. Over the past week, scenes of exasperation have emerged in various parts of China as officials battled against the “stealth omicron” variant that has fueled the country’s purported worst outbreak since the pandemic began two years ago. Among the regions hit were the southern technology hub of Shenzhen, whose 17.5 million residents were put into lockdown. Dongguan city in southeastern China and northeastern Jilin Province, home to 10 million and 24 million inhabitants respectively, …