Millions of people in Beijing queued up to undergo a new round of Covid-19 tests on Sunday, in what is becoming a daily grind as the Chinese capital scrambles to contain a small but persistent outbreak, and avoid a prolonged Shanghai-like lockdown.
The Shanghai shopping mall, which last week performed 63 million PCR tests and 126 million rapid tests of antigens to its 25 million inhabitants, it will also continue daily tests in the coming days, city officials said.
Regular testing is set to become a feature of daily life in many Chinese cities as authorities hope it can help detect and isolate infections early enough to avoid mass lockdowns and movement restrictions.
The strict restrictions imposed by the Covid in Beijing, Shanghai and dozens of other major cities in China are having a psychological effect on its inhabitantsweighing on the world’s second largest economy and disrupting supply chains and international trade.
Beijing has shuttered gyms and entertainment venues, banned restaurant food service and closed dozens of bus lines and nearly 15% of its sprawling subway system. Even businesses that have remained open have suffered.
Regular customers have stopped stopping by, not wanting to risk any activity that could classify them as close contacts of Covid sufferers, forcing them into quarantine.
“They are afraid of abnormalities in their health apps,” said a hairdresser who asked to be identified only by his surname Song, referring to the mobile monitoring software that all residents must use.
Song said his salon will try to stay open as long as possible, but he wasn’t sure how long. “This outbreak has really destabilized the whole world”
employment support
Premier Li Keqiang, in a teleconference with other senior officials, pledged on Saturday to support “as many employers as possible,” especially among small and medium-sized enterprises, to keep people in their jobs, the media reported. state agency Xinhua.
China’s unemployment rate stood at 5.8% in March, the highest since May 2020, while that of 31 major cities reached a record 6.0 percent. Shanghai’s full lockdown in April and tighter restrictions elsewhere have further hit the labor market.
Chinese authorities remain steadfast in their commitment to ending the coronavirus, rather than living with Covid like most countries, which are easing or removing measures against the virus. Last week, the authorities threatened to take action against critics of the zero Covid policy.
In Shanghai, which is facing the biggest outbreak in China’s history, most people have been confined to their homes for more than a month. Many complain of not being able to get food or access emergency healthcare or other basic services.
In some parts of Shanghai, risk levels have been officially lowered to the point that government regulations would theoretically allow them to leave their residences.
But while some were allowed out for short walks or shopping, most were still trapped behind the closed doors of their compounds, causing widespread frustration and even altercations.
Videos posted online last week showed dozens of workers at Apple and Tesla supplier Quanta overwhelming security guards in protective suits and jumping factory gates to escape rumors of Covid.
Beijing was desperate to avoid this drama, working tirelessly to track down and isolate infections.
On Sunday, residents lined up for another round of tests in Chaoyang, Fangshan and Fengtai districts and in small parts of others. In a large compound in Chaoyang, two people moved around with loudspeakers playing a repeated message to remind residents to get tested.
Many residents, even if they do not undergo mass testing, must show a recent negative result to go to work or enter various places.
Daily Covid cases in Beijing number in the dozens, far fewer than those in Shanghai at this point in its outbreak, when infections were in triple digits and rising.
Shanghai cases fell for a ninth day, according to data on Sunday, but were still in the thousands.
Like other cities in China, Shanghai is building thousands of permanent PCR testing posts. With most residents still indoors, this seems to anticipate a gradual return to normal life as people go back outside.
But the authorities have warned that this situation is still far away.
Top Chinese leaders meeting last week said the nation would fight any comments or actions that distorted, doubted or repudiated its Covid policy. Party and Shanghai city officials have also warned against complacency.