Covid-19 Outbreak In China: Focus Shifts To Beijing Even As Shanghai Cancels College Entrance Exam

Just as the month-long draconian lockdown in China’s Shanghai is causing rage among its desperate citizens, people in the capital city of Beijing have been subjected to a new round of mass testing and are rushing to stock up on food and daily essentials, fearing the Shanghai fate.

Shanghai Still Suffocating

China is facing its worst outbreak of Covid-19 cases since the Wuhan outbreak in 2019. Shanghai, which houses 25 million residents, reported 7,333 new cases on 1 May. As a result of one of the most punishing lockdowns, the inhabitants were effectively stuck indoors for more than a month.

In a rare instance of protest, online videos showed Shanghai residents shouting expletives and cursing the authorities from the balconies of their apartments in desperation.

Beijing Now?

Amidst the grim in Shanghai, Beijing is fast becoming the new focus of the latest outbreak. Consequently, in line with China’s “zero-Covid” policy, the city has banned all the restaurant dine-in services and restricted access to public avenues like gyms, malls, theatres, and major tourist places, including the Forbidden City and the Beijing Zoo. It has also shut down Universal Studios temporarily.

Gloomy Prep For Holiday Season

Notably, this has dampened the otherwise festive mood of the Chinese as they celebrate a five-day holiday season, traditionally one of the busiest tourist seasons, on the occasion of International Labour Day.

The holidays began on 28 April and ended on 4 May this year. On the occasion of the May Day holiday, authorities in Beijing went ahead with mass testing of millions of people.

Chaoyang district, the largest one and home to nightlife and embassies, accounts for the most infections in Beijing.

As the city ramped up mass tests starting 5 May, the citizens were required to present a negative Covid-19 test, taken within the previous 48 hours, to enter public spaces or return to work or school. In addition, all residents are required to take a Covid-19 test every week.

Several residential buildings and housing complexes with reported cases have already been sealed off.

In a dystopian turn of events, the preparations for the holiday season seem to be in the form of hospital beds. Chinese state media reported that a 1,000-bed hospital at Xiaotangshan in the northeastern suburbs, built for the 2003 SARS outbreak, has been refurbished in case it's needed.

As reported here, unofficial reports online say thousands of beds have been prepared in a centralised quarantine centre near the airport, but state media has not confirmed these preparations in what could be an attempt to avoid stoking public fears.

In the latest news, Shanghai has postponed the crucial Gaokao examination while Beijing has announced a new round of testing.