Following a spike in Covid-19 instances, Beijing’s streets and retail malls are deserted of patrons.
The surge in cases in Beijing is the first notable one since the pandemic swept the nation more than two years ago. Then, for instance, restaurants and stores in Sanlitun’s retail district were deserted.
Additional factors included that some restaurants only offered takeaway and had a small staff. In an ironic turn of events, numerous medical professionals blame the rise on the country’s relaxation of the Covid-19 policy, which the public has vehemently opposed for several weeks.
As instances of Covid-19 increased, many companies began to exhibit indications of slowing down. Due to illness, several employees choose not to show up for work. In addition, many consumers stayed home out of concern about catching Covid-19. A source claims that 21 of 24 Beijing officials in charge of keeping an eye on residential activity had Covid-19 symptoms.
“As our superiors are mostly infected, there’s not much work given to us. (The usual) events, lectures, performances, and parent-child activities will not be held,” said the source.
Weeks before, Beijing had only a few instances. But in the most recent weeks, there were many instances. Since Wuhan in 2020, only a small number of cases of Covid-19 have been reported on a significant scale.
To plot the breadth of the virus’ spread, officials have insufficient statistical information. Furthermore, unlike in the past, China reversed its position on extensive, mandated Covid-19 testing in cities, making it challenging to monitor the exact number of positive cases in various areas.
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A difficult task in counting Covid-19 cases
The Chinese National Health Commission stated that they could not precisely count the absolute number of afflicted people in the nation. The NHC, for instance, said that it would not include asymptomatic people in its list. Nevertheless, 2,249 symptomatic Covid-19 cases were found this week, according to officials. 20% of these were discovered in the capital city of the country.
“Many asymptomatic patients no longer participate in nucleic acid testing. As a result, it is impossible to grasp the actual number of asymptomatic infections accurately,” said the NHC.
“It’s deeply frustrating. Businesses have to close due to sick staff, even though they can legally be open. Blame is starting to flow from companies’ [foreign] headquarters to the team on the ground in China, with HQ asking, ‘Why can’t the China operations navigate these restrictions?’ All other markets have had to adjust and did so successfully,” said Noah Fraser, a managing director based in Beijing.
“It feels quite bizarre, actually. They’ve gone from 100 to zero, it seems. However, I think people are [still] concerned about catching Covid as there are fewer people out than normal, I’ve observed,” added a resident from Guangzhou.
“Some obviously miserable. Many nursing kids/parents are at home. Our’ work at home policy is now ‘work at home if you’re well enough.’ This thing came on like a runaway freight train,” explained James Zimmerman, a lawyer in Beijing.
Protests against the lockdown
Chinese citizens recently demonstrated against the stringent Covid-19 lockdowns that were in place. The government was forced to relax the lockdown procedures in several parts of China. Due to the development, people somewhat rejoiced. However, Chinese officials continued to be harsh and impose further limitations.
“I feel like everyone’s hard work is paying off,” said one protester.
“In our view, ending the pandemic [measures] as soon as possible is the key to the recovery in credit demand and economic growth,” said an analyst from Nomura.
“For China’s official institutions, there are no easy paths. Accelerating reopening plans when new Covid cases are rising is unlikely, given the low vaccination coverage of the elderly. But, on the other hand, mass protests would deeply tilt the scales in favor of an even weaker economy and likely be accompanied by a massive surge in Covid cases, leaving policymakers with a considerable dilemma,” added SPI Asset Management’s Innes.
“It appears that moving away from zero-Covid is pretty much a decentralized process in China: while some localities are easing restrictions, some allegedly still cling to zero-Covid, and still others are waiting and watching,” said Yanzhing Huang, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
“There will be no compensations, no apologies, no discovery of the truth, just moving on. What can lock us down can also easily unlock us. How terrifying is this capricious power, and when will it overturn your life again? I don’t celebrate. I just remember those brave friends with gratitude,” said a resident in a video posted on Weibo.
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Afflicting the healthcare system
The country’s healthcare system will be strained by the rise of Covid-19 sufferers being brought to the hospital. Authorities in Beijing advise residents to avoid hospitals if they only have slight or light symptoms. However, more than 19,000 hospitalized patients develop flu-like symptoms after six days.
“The current strains will spread faster in China than they have spread in other parts of the world. Because those other parts of the world have some immunity against infection from previous waves of earlier Omicron strains,” said Ben Cowling, an epidemiology professor from the University of Hong Kong.
“At present, the number of newly infected people in Beijing is increasing rapidly, but most of them are asymptomatic and mild cases,” said Sun Chunlan, a top Chinese official directed to manage Covid-19 in the country.
Photo Credit: Qilai Shen for New York Times
Source: CNN
