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As China faces a new wave of Covid-19 cases, Beijing has closed city parks and imposed other restrictions – even as millions remain in lockdown in western and southern China.
The country reported 10,729 new cases on Friday, almost all of them asymptomatic.
More than 5 million people are under lockdown in Guangzhou, the manufacturing hub in the south, and Chongqing, the megacity in the west.
With most of Beijing’s 21 million people being tested almost daily, the sprawling city recorded another 118 new cases.
Many urban schools switched to online classes, hospitals restricted services, some shops and restaurants closed and workers were quarantined.
Videos on social media showed people in some areas protesting or fighting with police and health workers.
“It has become normal, like eating and sleeping,” said Yang Zheng, a 39-year-old food and beverage server.
“I think the biggest impact is on children because they need to go to school.”
Ying Yiyang, who works in marketing, said the requirement to test every 24 to 48 hours was “troublesome”.
Many villages on the outskirts of the capital are home to blue-collar workers whose labor keeps the city going.
Many live in dormitory communities, and taxi and ride-sharing drivers say they avoid these places so they won’t be quarantined themselves.
Lockdowns in Guangzhou and elsewhere will end on Sunday, but authorities have repeatedly extended such restrictions without explanation.
China’s leader on Thursday pledged to address public dissatisfaction with its draconian “zero outbreak” strategy, which has confined millions of people to their homes and severely disrupted the economy.
The government said on Friday it would reduce the quarantine period for incoming travelers.
The U.S. embassy again this week advised citizens to avoid traveling to or within China unless absolutely necessary.
Inbound travelers will only be quarantined at designated locations for five days instead of the previous seven days, followed by three days at their place of residence, according to a notice from China’s State Council.
It is unclear when and where the rules will take effect and whether they will apply to foreigners and Chinese nationals.
The relaxed standards will also apply to foreign businessmen and athletes, which appears to be a gradual normalization.
The rules say airlines will no longer be threatened with a two-week grounding if five or more passengers test positive, which could significantly increase the number of seats on such flights, which have been limited since the U.K. Since then it has been greatly reduced and prices have soared. 2020.
The rules say people flying to China only need to take a negative test for the virus within 48 hours of travel.
Previously, two tests were required within this time period.
“Coronavirus Zero” has kept China’s infection rate relatively low but weighed on the economy and disrupted life by closing schools, factories and shops or locking down communities without warning.
As new cases surge, more and more regions are closing businesses and restricting the movement of people.
In order to enter office buildings, shopping malls and other public spaces, people must show a negative daily test for the virus.
Forecasters have been anticipating bolder steps in reopening the country, whose borders have largely remained at Disabled.
President Xi Jinping, the leader of the ruling Communist Party, is expected to make a rare trip next week, but there is little sign that the party’s policies closely related to social stability and his claimed superiority will be backed down.
That was maintained by the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, appointed at a party congress in October, which also expanded Xi Jinping’s political dominance by appointing him to a third five-year term as leader. status.
It was packed with his loyalists, including the former Shanghai party secretary, who imposed a draconian lockdown that resulted in food shortages, factory closures and millions of people stuck at home for two months or more.
People in cities with a single case in the past week are barred from visiting Beijing, while travelers from abroad must quarantine in hotels for seven to 10 days — if they can get through the timely and opaque visa process.
Business groups say this discourages foreign executives from visiting, prompting companies to shift investment plans to other countries.
Visits by U.S. officials and politicians charged with maintaining key trade ties have all but stalled amid tensions over tariffs, Taiwan and human rights.
Parts of Zhengzhou, home to the world’s largest iPhone factory, were suspended last week after residents tested positive for the virus.
Thousands of workers jumped over fences and fled factories run by Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group on foot along highways.
Many said sick colleagues received no help and working conditions were unsafe.
Also last week, angry comments were made on social media after the death of a 3-year-old boy from carbon monoxide poisoning in his yard in the northwest. The guards enforcing the blockade refused to help and tried to stop his son as he took him to the hospital, his father said.
Despite such complaints, Chinese citizens have little say in policymaking under a one-party authoritarian system that tightly controls the media and public demonstrations.
Speculation about when measures will be eased has centered on whether governments will be willing to import or domestically produce more effective vaccines, with older populations particularly vulnerable.
That could come as early as next spring, when a new batch of officials will be appointed under Mr. Xi’s continued leadership.
Alternatively, if the government continues to reject the concept of living to learn, the restrictions could last longer, as the situation has resulted in far fewer hospitalizations and deaths than at the peak of the pandemic.
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