medicine and now protests are erupting janis mackey frayer is in china with more. reporter: tonight china s financial capital shanghai locked down. 26 million people confined to their homes. the omicron variant spreading fast a record 23,000 new cases saturday and outrage rising too. over china s strict no-covid policy on social media videos not verified by nbc news described as protests by people desperate to get food and medicine store shelves cleared out. this man on the street yelling what am i supposed to buy? what am i supposed to eat? in some areas drones telling people to stay home. control your soul s desire for freedom, it says. robots patrolling the streets, reminding residents to wear masks and wash their hands. while across the city a covid dragnet. thousands of asymptomatic cases sent to mass quarantine centers, some still under construction american josh vaughn tested positive last week he s now confined to a hospital they like gave me this like little blue mat an