The uneven easing of COVID restrictions, however, is fueling fear among some residents who suddenly feel more exposed to a disease that authorities had consistently characterized as deadly until this week. Pharmacies in Beijing report that purchases of N95 masks, which offer a much higher degree of protection than the disposable surgical type, have increased this week. Some people wearing N95s on Friday said they got them from their employers. That cautious behavior bodes ill for consumer-facing businesses and factories in major cities hit by COVID-19, whose workers hope to remain virus-free at least until they return to their families in the countryside for the Lunar New Year. Year. The elderly, many of whom are still unvaccinated, feel the most vulnerable. Beijing resident Xi Wei, who suffers from lymphatic cancer, spends most of his time in isolation, but still worries about catching COVID and passing it on to his 80-year-old mother as she goes out for treatment every three weeks. “I can only pray that God protects me,” he said. China’s COVID policies have battered its economy, stifling everything from domestic consumption, factory output, global supply chains, and causing severe mental stress to hundreds of millions of people. Anger over the world’s toughest borders has sparked dozens of protests in more than 20 cities in recent days in a show of civil disobedience unprecedented in mainland China since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012. Less than 24 hours after people clashed with riot police wearing white hazmat suits in Guangzhou, a sprawling manufacturing hub just north of Hong Kong, the city lifted lockdowns in at least seven of its districts. Some communities now require less frequent testing and allow close contacts of infected people to self-quarantine at home, according to state media. But the uneven relaxation of rules in the city causes other kinds of problems for its residents. “I’m leaving for vacation tomorrow and I had to look for a place to get tested for COVID-19 because I still need a 48-hour code to get to the airport, but most of the testing stations have been removed,” a diplomat told a foreign consulate. in Guangzhou.
MORE TONE
Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, who is overseeing the COVID effort, said this week that the virus’s ability to cause disease is waning — a message that aligns with what health authorities around the world have been saying for more than a year . While government authorities in cities that have lifted lockdowns did not mention the protests in their announcements, national health officials said China would address “urgent concerns” expressed by the public. China is set to announce a relaxation of nationwide quarantine and testing requirements, sources told Reuters, which many hope will make enforcement more uniform. The measures include reducing the use of mass testing and routine nucleic acid testing, as well as moves to allow isolation of positive cases and close contacts at home under certain circumstances, sources familiar with the matter said. On the ground, however, some communities in Beijing and elsewhere have already allowed close contacts of people carrying the virus to self-quarantine at home, while some shopping malls in the capital have reopened since Thursday. A residential community in eastern Beijing sent out a notice on Friday to say that those with “no social activity,” such as the elderly and infants at home, no longer need regular checkups “to reduce the risk of overcrowding.” ». Several test chambers in the area have stopped functioning and the number of those taking the test has dropped by 20-30%, a member of the testing staff said. However, the nearby park remained closed, while restaurants and cafes only sold takeout. Earlier this year, entire communities were locked down, sometimes for weeks, after even one positive case, with people living in closed spaces losing income, poor access to basic needs and struggling to cope mentally with isolation.
DIFFERENT APPLICATION
Some areas in Guangzhou have resumed food services and residents are no longer required to show negative PCR tests to enter, state media reported. In nearby Shenzhen, some people will be allowed to self-quarantine at home. About a thousand kilometers to the west, in Chongqing, a wide range of businesses, from barbershops to gyms, were allowed to reopen this week. In Chengdu, Sichuan province, passengers no longer needed negative test results to take the bus or subway. In Jincheng, which is halfway between Beijing and Shanghai, people can now enter karaoke bars, but still cannot dine inside restaurants. At the same time, many communities in areas designated as high-risk by various cities remain under lockdown, and many people are still required to undergo daily tests. “The high spirits are not universal,” said the Guangzhou-based diplomat. “While many people are enjoying the new freedom, it’s worth noting that there are still hundreds of high-risk zones that are locked down across the city.” Additional reporting by Eduardo Baptista, Albee Zhang and Ryan Woo in Beijing. Marius Zaharia writes. Edited by Michael Perry Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
