Masked people walking down a street in Beijing’s Central Business District (CBD) during the morning rush hour after the coronavirus disease epidemic (COVID-19) in China, December 8, 2020. REUTERS / Tingshu Wang / File photo
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SHANGHAI / BEIJING, June 25 (Reuters) – Beijing said on Saturday it would allow primary and secondary schools to resume private lessons, and Shanghai’s chief party chief declared victory over COVID-19 after the city reported zero new local cases. for the first time in two months.
The two major cities were among several places in China that imposed restrictions to stop the spread of the Omicron wave from March to May, with Shanghai imposing a two-month blockade across the city, which it lifted on June 1st.
Efforts, part of China’s adherence to the zero-COVID policy, which aims to eradicate all outbreaks, have reduced the number of cases, but many of the harsh measures have sparked anger and even rare protests and dealt a severe blow to the economy.
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Beijing closed its schools in early May and asked students to switch to online learning amid a surge in locally transmitted COVID cases. High school and high school students were allowed to return to classrooms from June 2.
On Saturday, as the number of cases has been declining in recent days, the capital’s education commission said all students in the capital’s primary and secondary schools could return to private classes from Monday. Kindergartens will be able to reopen on July 4.
The Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau said separately that youth sports activities could resume at non-school venues on June 27 in areas where no community cases have been reported for seven consecutive days, except for basements, which will remain closed.
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Shanghai, meanwhile, has not reported any new local cases – both symptomatic and asymptomatic – on June 24, the first time the Chinese Economic Center has done so since February 23.
Shanghai Communist Party chief Li Qiang said at the opening of the city’s party congress on Saturday that authorities had “won the war to protect Shanghai” against COVID by following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s instructions and that Beijing’s decisions to prevent an epidemic are “completely correct”.
However, the city remains on the edge. Most students are not allowed to resume private lessons and indoor meals are still prohibited. It also plans to continue conducting mass PCR tests for its 25 million residents every weekend until the end of July.
And stressing the continuing difficulties in removing Omicron, the southern city of Shenzhen, which imposed a week-long blockade in March, said on Saturday it would close all cinemas and parks and suspend public events in the Futian district after six local cases were discovered. there on Friday.
Restaurants in the area, which has a population of about 1.55 million people and is home to Chinese insurance giant Ping An’s headquarters and the city government’s headquarters, will also be limited to 50 percent of their usual dining capacity, authorities said.
The city also requires residents to show a negative COVID-19 test to enter public places taken in the last 24 hours, shortened from 48 hours before, which essentially requires people to test daily to enter places such as malls or take public transport.
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Report by Brenda Go and Ryan Wu; Additional reports by David Kirton in Shenzhen; Edited by Edwina Gibbs, Sam Holmes and Michael Perry
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