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People walk under traditional Chinese lanterns along an alley in Beijing as the nation prepares to usher in the Year of the Ox on Friday. Photo: AFP

Covid-19: China’s ‘zero corona’ policy frustrates Japanese in Beijing during Lunar New Year celebrations

  • Workers already separated from family because of the pandemic are up against the Beijing government’s stringent new measures to curb the movement of people
  • Hampered by a list of rules inhibiting face-to-face business, workers are booking out golf courses in China’s capital
Japan
With the Lunar New Year holiday coming, China’s drastic “zero corona” policy has baffled Japanese workers in Beijing, most of whom have been forced to stay in the capital for more than a year.
One day before the 40-day Spring Festival travel season – dubbed the world’s biggest human migration period – began on January 28, the Beijing government abruptly announced more stringent steps to restrict the movement of people to prevent the intrusion of the novel coronavirus.

“I had planned to make a temporary return to Japan during the Lunar New Year holiday to meet my family and had booked a flight, but I eventually postponed,” said a Japanese male worker at the Beijing office of Sony Corp.

“I have not met my baby who was born last year in Japan. I hope that the situation will get better as soon as possible,” he said ahead of the seven-day holiday that kicked off on Thursday.

Many Japanese workers in Beijing live alone because their family members, who evacuated from China amid the outbreak in early 2020, have been stranded at home in Japan since the Chinese government limited the entry of foreigners last year.

Since late January, Beijing authorities have prohibited people who do not have a negative certificate of a PCR test taken within seven days before arrival from entering the capital from outside the city.

After arriving in Beijing, travellers must monitor their health for signs of infection for 14 days. During that time they are allowed to go out but are banned from taking part in any group activity and having a meal with others.

They also have to report their health condition to their workplace and residential district as requested and must take PCR tests on the seventh and 14th day during the so-called health monitoring period.

Such measures will remain effective until March 15, the day this year’s 10-day annual session of the National People’s Congress, China’s parliament, is expected to end.

“Once I leave Beijing, I cannot do face-to-face activities with others after return. I cannot get any work done,” said a Japanese employee for the sales division of a carmaker in the capital.

“I wanted to make a trip to somewhere in China during the holidays but I gave up. [As a] last resort, I will play golf every day in Beijing,” he said.

A large number of golf courses in the city have been fully booked recently, even during winter.

China’s migrant workers stay put for Lunar New Year amid Covid-19 curbs

Regarding overseas travel, people must be quarantined at a designated facility for 21 days on arrival in a Chinese city other than Beijing. After reaching the capital, they must undergo a seven-day health monitoring period.

So far, all direct flights between Japan and Beijing have been suspended.

As some workers in Beijing returned via another city to Japan late last year, the quarantine period was extended in January during their stay in the home country. The capital previously imposed a 14-day quarantine on those who entered Beijing.

A male worker for a Japanese major trading house in Beijing said that while he was in Japan “the goalpost has been moved”.

“If I go back to China now, I will be quarantined effectively for one month. I cannot stand it. I am wondering if I will stay in Japan with my family for a longer period than I originally planned,” he said.

Meanwhile, many Japanese in Beijing – especially those who have left their family members in Japan – have also been concerned about the virus spread in the nation.

Another male Sony worker said the number of infections might increase in Japan if Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s government rushes to lift the ongoing state of emergency with the aim of holding the Tokyo Summer Olympics in July.

“If the state of emergency is lifted, Japanese people might let their guard down against the virus. I have heard that it is still uncertain when Japan can secure adequate vaccines. I am very worried about my family,” he said.

The current state of emergency for Tokyo and other areas is slated to be lifted completely on March 7 at this stage.

China’s stay-at-home Lunar New Year a welcome break from tradition for many

In contrast to Japan, China has already approved its home-developed coronavirus vaccines and its citizens have started receiving one, although fears linger about their safety and efficacy.

There is a rumour that all the people living in China, including foreigners, could be ordered to inoculate with the country’s vaccines in the near future when they travel to other nations suffering from the pandemic.

“I do not want to take a Chinese vaccine,” a Japanese journalist in Beijing said. “To avoid such a consequence, I strongly hope that Japan’s central and local governments will make every effort to contain the virus.”

Since first being detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the virus erupted into a pandemic that has infected over 107 million people and caused more than 2.3 million deaths across the globe, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

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