BEIJING: Millions of Beijing residents worked and studied from home on Thursday at the end of a five-day Labour Day holiday as Covid-19-related restrictions continued in the city and the government warned that “hidden” sources of the infection were lurking within communities.
If the holidays were subdued because of Covid-containing protocols, the resumption was equally so.
Roads remained relatively empty especially in the most populous Chaoyang district with scores of bus routes suspended, part of Beijing government’s efforts to stamp out the outbreak that’s now touched the 550-infection mark.
Subway trains didn’t stop at dozens of usually busy junctions, which have also been shut down with authorities not saying when the routes will be reopened.
From Thursday, a negative nucleic acid test result taken within seven days has been made mandatory to enter public venues and use public transport.
Beijing will continue its epidemic-control measures – initially announced for the May Day holidays between April 30 to May 4 – which includes the delay in reopening of primary and middle schools and the closure of entertainment, cultural and sports venues.
Dining in restaurants continues to be banned as well until further notice.
The total number of cases in the ongoing outbreak had crossed the number reported in cluster infections connected to the Xinfadi wholesale market in the middle of 2020, which was around 330.
Beijing has carried out multiple rounds of nucleic acid tests but the transmission chains have not yet been completely cut off with new cases being reported during the mass testing at the community level.
Beijing still has scattered and hidden sources of Covid-19 infections “at the community level”, and the transmission routes are yet to be blocked entirely, Pang Xinghuo, deputy director at Beijing Municipal Health Commission said on Thursday.
Late on Thursday evening, Chinese President Xi Jinping said epidemic prevention and control is at a critical stage and called for efforts to adhere to the dynamic zero-Covid policy.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks while presiding over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, during which the outbreak was analysed.
The nation will speed up measures to tackle regional flare ups, the top leadership said, adding that China has made progress overcoming challenges from the latest virus resurgence, the worst outbreak since the first wave in Wuhan two years ago
China has maintained its hardline “zero-Covid” approach but has imposed less strict restrictions in Beijing – at least yet – than in other cities such as Shanghai, where millions were placed under strict lockdown.
In a related development, Beijing will now require arrivals from overseas to quarantine at a hotel for 10 days, followed by another week of home isolation, the city authorities have announced.
Previously, overseas arrivals were required to isolate for 21 days at least 14 of them at designated hotels, followed by seven days of regular health reporting.
The rule change is expected to have little immediate impact anytime soon because only a handful of daily international flights are being allowed into Beijing.
The change in policy, however, could be as a gradually growing willingness to meet – very much growing – demands for a less intrusive and economically damaging policy.
