Chinese capital Beijing and financial hub Shanghai relax stringent COVID controls as new cases decline

Chinese capital Beijing and financial hub Shanghai relax stringent COVID controls as new cases decline

China has slowly started coming out of the latest rampaging COVID resurgence. In a significant step toward normality, the capital city of Beijing allowed restaurants in most districts to resume in-store dining on Monday after banning it for about a month. Most other businesses could also restore in-person operations as reported by state media.

Beijing allowed public transport to return to pre-outbreak capacity and opened most public places on Monday as the capital city has not reported any infections outside quarantined areas for three consecutive days as per official announcements. Except for Fengtai and parts of Changping districts that still reported infections, business and normal life in most parts of the capital resumed, with normal precautions in place. Beijing had reported more than 1,800 locally transmitted COVID-19 infections by Monday afternoon in the latest resurgence of the virus.

As the outbreak continues to subdue, the city will further loosen epidemic response restrictions and steadily return to normal, authorities said.The southeastern metropolis and China’s financial hub – Shanghai, which was locked down for about two months, has also gradually started opening up last week after a brutal onslaught of COVID. Residents flocked to camping sites and local parks over the long weekend holiday that began Friday, as much of the last months buzzed with online and offline public protests against China’s zero-COVID policy. According to reports, many Chinese and foreigners have also left Shanghai and China as soon as authorities relaxed the control on travel.
As people returned to work on Monday, huge traffic congestion was also visible on the roads. Both cities also relaxed the frequency of virus tests to three days from two. After a surge of omicron cases across the country since March, the nationwide daily Covid case count has fallen to well below 50, according to official data. However, a new COVID wave has hit North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
As economic activities resume, business survey data for manufacturing and services in May showed in the last week, recovery from April lows. But the data, known as the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), still remained below 50 which shows a contraction in economic activities.