China’s unusually high rates of coronavirus infections escalated on Monday, after a stunning weekend of protest against the nation’s new coronavirus restrictions and in scenes unprecedented since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012.

Demonstrators in Shanghai clashed with police on Sunday, with police removing the busload of activists and BBC reporters stating that police assaulted and detained one of its journalists beforehand and subsequently released him.

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The prices of stocks and fossil fuels fell sharply on Monday due to concerns about the management of China’s zero-coronavirus policy, which led the ailing industries to strike out at the first and second tier. The Chinese government scrambled to remove photographs, videos, and posts that might prove detrimental to its image.

During the weekend, demonstrators in cities including Wuhan and Lanzhou upended coronavirus testing centers, while students gathered in colleges across China in actions that were sparked by anger over an apartment fire late last week in the far western city of Urumqi that killed 10 people.

The dangerous fire led some people to think that the pandemic had impeded the rescue and escape process, which had been ongoing without incident for 100 days. City officials denied this speculation.

Crowds in Urumqi took to the street on Friday evening, chanting “End the lockdown!”, according to unverified videos on social media.

Large numbers of people were heard in the Beijing capital on Sunday, particularly on the landmark’s Third Ring Road, carrying loud and sometimes angry voices until the time of dawn.