- Beijing is closing more gyms, malls and cinemas to curb the epidemic
- Supply companies work overtime to deliver to residents
- “The virus is what harms the economy” – a health official
BEIJING / SHANGHAI, April 29 (Reuters) – The Chinese capital, Beijing, closed more businesses and housing complexes on Friday, with authorities stepping up tracking of contacts to control the COVID-19 outbreak as dissatisfaction with the ongoing monthly blockade in Shanghai grows.
In the financial center, the fenced people are protesting against the blockade and the difficulties in obtaining provisions, hitting pots and pans in the evening, according to a Reuters witness and residents.
A video shared on social media, the authenticity of which cannot be confirmed immediately, shows a woman warning people not to do so out loud, saying such gestures are encouraged by “outsiders”.
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The Shanghai government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In Beijing, authorities raced against the clock to find cases of COVID and isolate those around them.
A sign in front of a residential complex read “Entry only. No exit.”
Poland’s Joanna Szklarska, 51, was sent to a quarantined hotel as a close contact, but she refused to share the room, which had only one bed, with her neighbor.
She was returned home, where authorities installed an alarm on the front door. She was then called back to the hotel, which already has its own room.
“Nothing makes sense here,” the English-speaking consultant said over the phone.
At a regular press conference on Friday, Chinese health officials did not answer questions about whether Beijing would enter the blockade or what circumstances could trigger such measures.
The Chaoyang district, the first to undergo mass tests this week, launched the last of three rounds of screening on Friday among its 3.5 million residents. Most other areas are due for the third round of tests on Saturday.
More apartment blocks were sealed, preventing residents from leaving, and some spas, KTV lounges, gyms, cinemas and libraries and at least two shopping malls closed on Friday.
Chaoyang, which has the largest share of cases in Beijing, said more neighborhoods are at risk.
People who have recently visited places in such areas have received text messages telling them to stay in place until they receive the test results.
“Hello citizens! You recently visited the Guanghui Li Beef Noodle and Stewed Chicken Store, ”read one such text. “Please report immediately to your compound or hotel, stay in place and wait for the nucleic acid test notification.”
“If you violate the above requirements and cause the spread of the epidemic, you will be held legally responsible.
Companies like JD.com, an e-commerce platform, strive to keep residents well-off.
The head of one of his logistics centers on the outskirts of Beijing, 32-year-old Ming Tang, said delivery volumes had increased by 65% since the first cases appeared on April 22, and 80% of parcels were food-related.
“The effort to deliver parcels on time and the long working hours put a lot of pressure on our couriers,” he said.
Beijing reported 49 cases on April 28 against the previous day, which is far from the numbers in Shanghai.
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Companies that are reopening factories in Shanghai are booking hotel rooms to house workers and turning vacant workshops into isolation facilities on site as authorities urge them to resume work below COVID’s restrictions.
Once in the closed-loop plant system, it is unclear when the workers will be able to return. Read more
Many foreigners want to escape from the most cosmopolitan city in mainland China. Read more
In response to COVID and other adverse winds, China will boost political support for the economy, the ruling Communist Party’s top decision-making body said on Friday, lifting shares (.CSI300), (.SSEC) from the last two years. Read more
Chinese authorities say that being unable to suffer from COVID is vital to saving as many lives as possible.
“We need to realize that the virus is what harms the economy,” said Liang Wangyan, head of the National Health Commission’s COVID response panel.
“The fight against the COVID epidemic is a war, a war of resistance, a war of the people,” Liang said.
In Shanghai, authorities said more and more people had recently been allowed to leave their homes. More than 12 million, almost half the population, are now in this category. Read more
However, many cannot leave their complexes, while those who may have few places to go because shops and other places are closed. Often, one of the 52,000 police officers mobilized for the blockade asks them to return home.
Many residents complain about the inflexible police, who sometimes do not take into account health emergencies or other individual circumstances.
“There are still many shortcomings in our work,” Shu Qing, head of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, told reporters.
“Some individual police officers do not pay attention to styles or methods when applying the law, or are emotional or mechanical.”
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Reports by Martin Quinn Pollard, Eduardo Baptista, David Stanway, Brenda Go, Tony Munro, Roxana Liu, Albee Zhang, Wang Yifan and offices in Beijing and Shanghai; Author: Marius Zacharias; Edited by Lincoln Feast.
Our standards: Thomson Reuters’ principles of trust.
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