Hangzhou and Beijing follow Shenzhen’s approach to ‘dynamic zero’ by implementing mass testing for public transport and large venues
- The southern tech hub of Shenzhen has managed to keep an early outbreak of Omicron under control through only a week of lockdown
- China is facing its biggest Covid-19 crisis since the Spring of 2020, with Shanghai’s month-long lockdown disrupting supply chains
Beijing and Hangzhou, home to many of China’s leading tech firms, have started to implement Shenzhen’s approach to the country’s “dynamic zero” Covid-19 policy, by asking residents to present negative test results if they want to use public transport or enter certain venues.
Unlike the strict month-long lockdown in Shanghai that has generated public criticism and hardship for its 25 million residents – not to mention serious disruption of supply chains – the southern tech hub of Shenzhen has managed to keep an early outbreak of Omicron under control through only a week of lockdown.
In Shenzhen thousands of nucleic acid test stands have been set up to offer fast and free tests, as it is mandatory to present a negative result within 72 hours to board the city’s subways or buses.
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This approach of frequent testing, which some critics have described as unnecessary and costly, started to be adopted by Hangzhou, home of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, on Thursday. The city, home to 10 million people, announced that everyone must take at least one nucleic acid test every 48 hours. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
If a resident cannot provide a test record for the past 48-hours, they will be denied access to public transport and entry into crowded places in the city, according to a government notice published on Wednesday. As part of this effort, the city will add 10,000 test stands.
Meanwhile, Beijing will conduct three rounds of mandatory Covid-19 tests for all residents in the city’s downtown districts from Tuesday to Saturday, and a number of venues have already started to require that visitors present a negative test result within the past 24 hours or 48 hours to enter.
Universal Beijing Resort, in the eastern part of the city, requires that all visitors present a negative test result within the past 24 hours from this Friday while China’s National Stadium has demanded that visitors present a negative result within the past 48 hours.
The Chinese government has repeatedly said it will stick with its “dynamic zero” policy amid outbreaks of the highly-infectious Omicron strain of Covid-19, even though the rest of the world is gradually opening up. However, Beijing has left it to local governments to explore different methods of implementing the policy. Frequent testing may be relaxed if there are no new cases.
China is facing its biggest Covid-19 crisis since the Spring of 2020. The country’s financial hub Shanghai has been locked down for a month, resulting in huge economic and social dislocation. Meanwhile, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou have all reported cases of Omicron.
Yiwu, an export hub located in eastern Zhejiang province, has asked all residents to avoid unnecessary trips outside the city and conducted mass testing with a few cases reported this month. All schools and kindergartens need to operate within a “closed-loop” and places like cinemas, bars and libraries will be closed, according to a notice published by the local government on Tuesday.
“I’m afraid of going to the test station. I think it’s dangerous, and feel as though I’m entering a positive case area,” said one Hangzhou resident surnamed Wu, who spoke to the Post on condition that she would not have to provide her full name.
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Wu said she has been going to a local station near her place of residence for a Covid-19 test when she is free, but since yesterday testing is mandatory. “I had to wait for more than an hour in a hospital for a test yesterday, as I couldn’t make it to the local station, which closes around 4 or 5pm,” said Wu.
