Covid-19 in China: Beijing urges residents of capital’s commercial centre not to leave unless absolutely necessary

Chaoyang district is at the centre of the capital’s outbreak and has already ordered businesses to close and residents to work from home
Other cities across China are also tightening controls as the country sticks to a strict zero-Covid policy

Coronavirus China

Phoebe Zhang

Published: 10:00pm, 8 May 2022

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Beijing city authorities stepped up their pandemic controls on Sunday, calling on residents to not leave the central Chaoyang district and the outer area of Shunyi unless absolutely necessary.

Meanwhile, around China, local governments in more cities tightened controls as well, halting public transport and closing public venues after only a dozen cases were found.

Another Beijing district works from home to stop Covid spread

Chaoyang district deputy chief Yang Beibei said on Sunday that there had been sporadic new community cases because some residents had not been following quarantine measures strictly and there was still a transmission risk from people travelling.

The district – home to the city’s central business district and most embassies – has ordered residents to work from home, and all companies that do not provide essential services or public security to close.

The Shunyi district government also said residents in the area should work from home and not travel unless necessary. In addition, movie theatres, restaurants and other public venues will be closed and tests in the region carried out.

Beijing municipal spokesman Xu Hejian said new community cases were the biggest risk and urged medical staff to get ahead of the Omicron variant. “We must pinpoint the risky places and people at once, and apply restrictive measures as early as possible, in order to not miss any potential risks,” he said.

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On Sunday, Beijing logged 62 local cases, including 18 asymptomatic infections. In China, there were a total of 4,384 local cases, including 4,065 local asymptomatic infections.

Around China, local governments ramped up pandemic prevention and control measures as well. The city of Yichun in the eastern province of Jiangxi announced a lockdown in its central four districts after finding only one positive case on Saturday.

From Sunday night, residents in the four districts are required to stay indoors unless necessary, all bus and taxis services are suspended and all schools must move classes online.

In Zhanjiang in Guangdong province in the south, the government announced on Sunday that residents are only allowed to leave the city with a negative PCR test result taken within 48 hours, after it found 14 cases on Saturday.

In multiple cities, regular public mass screenings are also on the agenda, and residents are required to show negative results to use public transport or enter restaurants.

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In the southern city of Shenzhen a negative result taken within the past 72 hours is still needed to use the subway or enter some official buildings and residential compounds, even though the city has not had a local case for nearly a month.

Other large cities with similar requirements include Hangzhou, Wuhan and Ningbo. In Wuhu in Anhui province, residents are required to take one test every five days.

There have been some complaints about the inconvenience caused by strict restrictions, but official rhetoric has stressed the importance of the “dynamic zero-Covid” strategy.

The official Health Times reported that medical experts had said such measures “have the lowest social cost in the mid to long term”.