Coronavirus: Beijing outbreak may deal fatal blow to some small businesses in the capital
- Gu Jinfeng’s preschool centre was set to reopen after months of lockdowns, but a new coronavirus outbreak has put Beijing businesses under fresh restrictions
- Many small firms like Gu’s cannot shift online because of the nature of their work and some fret they may not have the cash to wait out an extended lockdown
Beijing resident Gu Jinfeng had spent weeks preparing to reopen her preschool training centre, rolling out nucleic acid tests for teachers, disinfecting classrooms and slogging through red tape to get official approvals.
Small-scale trial courses conducted last week raised hopes the company’s doors would soon open for children again.
“We just had an emergency meeting this morning to discuss what if the reopening was delayed to July, September, or even year-end,” said Gu, the centre’s manager. “And more importantly how long can we wait?”
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New coronavirus outbreak at Beijing food market fuels fears of second wave of cases in China
After recently emerging from months of crippling lockdowns, tens of thousands of small businesses are now facing the threat of a second wave of infections that has prompted authorities in the capital to lock down about 30 residential communities and reintroduce social distancing rules.