As Beijing tightens COVID curbs, hard-hit Shanghai sees signs of life

Beijing, May 1 (BNA) Today, Sunday, the Chinese capital, Beijing, tightened restrictions on the spread of the emerging Corona virus, while battling the outbreak of the disease, while Shanghai allowed some of its 25 million residents to go out for light and air after reporting a second day of absence. Injuries outside the quarantine areas.

The outbreak in Shanghai, which began in March, was the worst in China since the epidemic’s early months in 2020. Reuters reported that hundreds of thousands have been infected, and the city has prevented residents from leaving their homes, sparking huge public anger.

The outbreak in China’s most populous city and the risk of spreading in Beijing test the government’s COVID-free approach in a year in which Xi Jinping is expected to secure an unprecedented third term as president.

Beijing, where dozens of daily infections are spreading on its 10th day, has not yet closed its doors. More than 300 locally transferred cases have been recorded since April 22.

But the capital on Sunday tightened social distancing rules and launched a new round of mass testing in its most populous and hardest-hit district.

The city of 22 million people last week conducted mass testing in most of its 16 counties, suspended all entertainment venues and banned dining in restaurants.

“The effect of all this on us is so great – 20,000 yuan ($3,000) went in one day, just like this!” said Jia, manager of a popular burger restaurant usually in eastern Beijing.

“Our boss is stressing about this too,” Jia said, requesting that his name only be used by his last name. “We have three branches in Shanghai. They all closed down and lost money for a month. And now this.”

Universal Studios theme park in Beijing closed Sunday, while in the much-visited Badaling section of the Great Wall of China, visitors were required to show evidence of negative COVID test results before entering.

Chaoyang District, which accounts for the largest share of infections in the outbreak in Beijing, has launched an additional round of mass testing, with public health workers knocking on doors to remind residents to get tested.

“I do a PCR test every day and I know I’m not sick,” said a Chaoyang resident surnamed Ma, whose local health app on her mobile phone marked her profile as abnormal.

“I feel caged like I’m sick,” said Ma, who works in finance. “These restrictions are too excessive.”

Shanghai’s citywide lockdown since early April has upended the daily lives of its residents, raising fears about food and concern about them being taken to crowded quarantine centers if they contract the virus.

Strict measures taken to close apartment complexes, including fencing the entrances to buildings, sparked a wave of outrage.

Some residents turned to social media to vent their frustration, some clashed over pots and pans outside their windows, and others clashed with public health workers.

The song “Do you hear the people sing?” From Les Misérables music it became a popular protest anthem. On Saturday, a video of a Chinese orchestra playing the song, with the musicians performing from their homes, went viral online, with nearly 19,000 posts before it was banned.

While most of the city remains closed, officials in Shanghai said, on a confident note, on Sunday that restrictions will be eased in some areas after the city curbed the risks of community-wide COVID transmission, except for cases in quarantine centers.

Six of its 16 counties have reached COVID-free status, which means three consecutive days with no new daily increases in infections, senior city government official Gu Hongwei told a virtual press conference.

At the press conference, a health official said that public transportation would be allowed to resume in five areas, but residents should stay in their areas while visiting supermarkets, pharmacies and hospitals.

Social media posts showed the streets of Fengxian, one of the six counties, filled with pedestrians and choked with scooters and bicycles. Reuters was unable to verify the authenticity of the videos.

But despite the low transmission, Shanghai will launch a new round of citywide PCR and antigen tests from Sunday through May 7.

Excluding imported cases from outside the mainland, China reported 8,256 new domestic cases on Saturday, down from 10,703 the previous day. Beijing saw 59 infections, while Shanghai saw 7,872 new cases and all 38 deaths in the country.

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