Beijing on high alert for Covid as people return to work after five-day break

Beijing Covid people return to work
AP
Elly Blake5 May 2022

Beijing is on high alert for Covid as people returned to work on Thursday following a five-day public holiday.

Officials in the Chinese capital of 21 million people are grappling to contain an outbreak, and have managed to limit case numbers to just dozens a day for about two weeks.

It comes as residents get back to work after the Labour Day holiday, although many are being urged to work from home.

Authorities in Beijing are determined to avoid a similar fate of China’s commercial hub of Shanghai, where most of its 25 million people have endured a strict lockdown which has saw people confined to their residential compounds for more than a month.

Beijing’s streets were slightly less busy than on a normal working day as people were encouraged to work from home.

Meanwhile, the closure of scores of bus routes and more than 10 per cent of metro stations as part of Covid precautions has complicated commuting for many.

Transport officials have also asked ride hailing platforms to reduce activity in some parts of the city.

Beijing workers Covid high alert
A commuter walks past a closed metro station in Beijing
AP

Still, many subway trains looked crowded and office districts were busy. Many people took to bicycles to get around the city.

Under a host of new curbs in recent days, Beijing residents hoping to take the subway or bus are required to have a negative Covid test, although it appeared that few checks were being made.

“Right now, I feel relatively safe at work and where I live, but I don’t dare run around outside because I still feel the outbreak hasn’t reached its peak,” cook Liu Wentao told Reuters.

Compared with Shanghai which saw hundreds of cases every day around two weeks into its outbreak, Beijing is faring much better.

The apparent success in keeping a lid on the outbreak has enabled authorities to make small adjustments to restrictions.

CHINA-HEALTH-VIRUS
Mass Covid testing is underway in some parts of Beijing to contain the outbreak
AFP via Getty Images

Some small parts of Chaoyang district, the epicentre of Beijing’s outbreak, which had put restrictions on movement, allowed people to go to work on Thursday though they were encouraged to work from home if possible and avoid gatherings.

Some isolated lockdowns of residential buildings and the closure of gyms, restaurants and other venues remained in force.

In Shanghai, while authorities say curbs on movement have been gradually eased in recent days in more areas, there was no significant change for many people living in communities under lockdown.

China’s continues to pursue its strict “zero-Covid” policy, which it says is saving lives and makes the heavy economic and psychological costs of the lockdowns worth it.

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