Chinese internet authorities are trying to block a popular video highlighting the impact of Shanghai's five-week lockdown.

The video features audio of citizens complaining about their conditions, lack of food and poor medical care.

Shanghai's 25 million residents have been shut in their homes for weeks while officials try to contain a severe Covid-19 outbreak.

"We haven't eaten for days now," one person can be heard pleading.

"This virus can't kill us. Starvation can," another man says.

The video, titled The Voice of April, is widely shared on the popular Chinese platforms Weibo and WeChat.

On Saturday Chinese internet authorities began trying to take it down, battling with rebellious users who were posting new copies elsewhere on the sites.

The Chinese financial hub reported 39 new deaths among its COVID-19 patients on April 23, up from 12 the day before, the local government said on Sunday.

The city also recorded 19,657 new local asymptomatic coronavirus cases, down from 20,634 a day earlier. The number of confirmed symptomatic infections stood at 1,401, also down from 2,736 the previous day.

Shanghai is currently battling China's biggest-ever COVID-19 outbreak.
-BBC/Reuters