Beijing has reopened a center of mass isolation as authorities seek to control the Covid-19 outbreak in the city.
Xiaotangshan Fangcai Hospital, which has at least 1,200 beds and testing facilities, was first opened during the Sars epidemic in 2003 and was used again in early 2020 to treat patients with Covid. Its reopening signals an increase in the Chinese capital’s efforts to manage the growing number of cases without blocking the entire city.
On Wednesday, China reported 5,489 cases, including 353 symptomatic. Most (4,982) were in Shanghai, which was under a week-long blockade, sparking widespread complaints and protests over food shortages and excessive zeal. Beijing reported 46 symptomatic and five asymptomatic cases on Wednesday, bringing the city’s total number to about 400 since the Omicron eruption began.
As the number of cases in Shanghai rose to thousands, authorities raced to identify and isolate each case, regardless of severity. Hundreds of thousands were transferred to temporary hospitals, requisitioned office buildings and apartment blocks, and reassigned congress centers. Conditions at some facilities have caused complaints, with bright 24/7 lighting, limited water and unsanitary conditions.
In a statement, the Beijing Municipal Health Commission said it had reopened Xiaotangshan Hospital as a precaution, describing the battle against the spread of Omicron as a game of chess. It says one isolation ward is already working, with 40 medical staff treating 12 people with asymptomatic or mild cases.
Ahead of the five-day May Day holiday last week, authorities imposed some community-specific blockades, traffic restrictions and closed entertainment and public places, including Universal Beijing Resort. Restaurants were banned from offering catering services, and on Wednesday the city announced that dozens of underground stations and more than 150 bus routes would be closed from midnight. He is conducting frequent mass tests on millions of residents, with 12 of Beijing’s 16 districts conducting the second of three rounds this week, making three mass screenings last week.
Cases are reported in many cities and provinces in China, with hundreds of millions of people in some form of complete or partial blockade. In Henan Province, Zhengzhou City announced traffic restrictions from May 4 to 10, including distance learning and work from home. Henan reported 12 symptomatic and 38 asymptomatic cases on Wednesday.
The government of the Chinese Communist Party is committed to a policy of zero Covid, which analysts say is now so ingrained in politics that there are no signs of a way out. Health authorities have now said China cannot reopen because vaccination levels – especially among the elderly – are too low and the distribution of health resources in the country is unfair. However, the more portable strain of Omicron challenged the book with Zero Covid. Authorities in Beijing appear to be hoping to act early enough to avoid a Shanghai-style crisis.
The blockade in Shanghai has begun to be lifted in some areas, but most people are still unable to leave their housing estates. Residents report numerous cases of overzealous or incompetent actions by health professionals. Viral videos on social media this week showed workers in protective suits kicking the door of a home where residents said they were still waiting for a test result. A video of morgue workers collecting the body of a nursing home who has been pronounced dead but found still alive has also raised concerns.
There were also major concerns about the way deaths are reported, with the official number being much lower than expected. The low accountability is due to China’s strict regulations on attributing Covid-19 as a cause of death when there are other factors, but the reporting of some deaths has caused confusion.
Zero Covid’s policy also hurts domestic consumption and factory production, disrupting key global supply chains and cutting revenues for some of the world’s largest international brands, such as Apple, Kering, owner of Gucci, and Yum China, owner of Taco Bell.
Capital Economics estimates that the virus has spread to areas that generate 40 percent of China’s output and 80 percent of its exports – all facing varying degrees of restrictions.
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