The outbreak in Shanghai, which began in March, was the worst in China since the first months of the pandemic in 2020. Hundreds of thousands have been infected and the city has banned residents from leaving their homes, causing widespread public outrage. Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chunlan, personally in Shanghai to oversee the city’s work to fight the epidemic, said Sunday that although it is not time to relax, communities without new cases for seven days should be allowed to return to “Normal social order”. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register The outbreak in China’s most populous city and the risk of spreading to Beijing test the government’s approach to zero COVID-19, which put tremendous pressure on local economies at a time when Xi Jinping is expected to secure an unprecedented third term as president. Beijing, with dozens of daily infections in an outbreak now in its 10th day, has not been locked out. More than 300 locally transmitted cases have been reported since April 22. However, on Sunday, the capital increased social distance rules and launched a new round of mass trials in its hardest-hit region. The city of 22 million last week carried out mass tests in most of its 16 neighborhoods, suspended all entertainment venues and banned food from restaurants. “The impact of all this on us is huge – 20,000 yuan ($ 3,000) in one day, that’s right!” said Jia, manager of a burger restaurant in eastern Beijing. “Our boss is worried about that too,” Jia said, asking to be identified only by his last name. “We have three branches in Shanghai. Everything is closed and they lose cash for a month. And now that.” Beijing’s Universal Studios theme park closed on Sunday, and in the bustling Badaling section of the Great Wall, visitors were asked to show proof of negative COVID test results before entering. The Chaoyang area, which accounts for the largest share of infections in the Beijing epidemic, has launched an additional round of mass trials, with public health workers knocking on doors to remind residents to get tested. “I do the PCR test every day and I know I’m not sick,” said a Chaoyang resident with the surname Ma, whose local health app on her mobile phone had marked her profile as abnormal. “I feel trapped, like I’m sick. These restrictions are too much,” said Ma, who works in finance. Reuters Graphics ANGER IN SHANGHAI The lockdown across Shanghai city since early April has raised food concerns and concerns about transporting them to crowded quarantine centers if they catch the virus. Extreme measures taken to seal residential complexes, including the fencing of building entrances, have sparked outrage. Some residents have turned to social media to vent their frustration, some have potted pots and pans outside their windows and others have clashed with public health workers. The song “Can you hear the world singing?” from the musical “Les Miserables” has become a popular protest anthem. On Saturday, an online video of a Chinese orchestra playing the song, with musicians performing from their respective homes, went viral with nearly 19,000 notifications before being blocked. Reuters Graphics While much of the city remained locked down, new cases have been halved in recent days, prompting state media to describe the situation as steadily improving and being “effectively under control”, signaling easing restrictions. Shanghai officials, in an optimistic tone, told a news conference on Sunday that restrictions in some areas would be eased after the city managed to reduce transmission risks at Community level, except in quarantine centers. Six of its 16 districts achieved zero COVID-19 status, three consecutive days without new daily increases in infections, senior city government official Gu Honghui told a virtual news conference. Public transport will be allowed to resume in five districts, but residents must remain in their districts as they visit supermarkets, pharmacies and hospitals, a health official told a news conference. Posts on social media showed the streets of Fengxian, one of the six neighborhoods, full of pedestrians and drowned on scooters and bicycles. Excluding imported cases outside the mainland, China reported 8,256 new local cases on Saturday, up from 10,703 the previous day. Beijing accounted for 59 of the infections, while Shanghai reported 7,872 new cases and all 38 deaths. read more ($ 1 = 6.6080 yuan) Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Ryan Woo, Jing Xu, Brenda Goh, Martin Quin Pollard, Alessandro Diviggiano and Zhang Yan. Editing by William Mallard, Tom Hogue and Angus MacSwan Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
