- Beijing reports more infections, Shanghai to categorize city
- Port city of Tianjin is racing to tame an omicron outbreak
Beijing on Monday extended its work from home orders after the Chinese capital reported its biggest daily tally of Covid-19 cases , sparking fears of a full lockdown, reports the Straits Times.
New COVID19 cases
Beijing reported 99 Covid-19 cases on Monday for Sunday, which was up from a previous daily average of around 50, pushing the total caseload over 1,400 in the ongoing month-long outbreak.
Technically, Beijing is not under a lockdown but wide-ranging restrictions like the closure of public transport, taxi services and public venues in many areas along with the ban on in-restaurant dining means that the majority of residents have remained mostly homebound.
Residents of at least five of the city’s 16 districts have been asked to work from home and avoid gatherings as local health authorities desperately try to avoid a situation like in Shanghai, which has logged hundreds of thousands of Covid-19 cases and more than 560 deaths in the outbreak since March.
Those who have to go to work should have a negative result on a PCR test taken within 48 hours, and must not deviate from their home-to-work commute, the Beijing municipal government said.
Non-residents entry restricted
Many residential communities across the city, and especially in the five districts, have been asked to restrict the entry of non-residents into the compounds, and courier companies, for example, have been asked to gather at designated places outside the compound to make the deliveries.
“Universities are currently the focus of Covid-19 prevention and control efforts in Beijing, the capital city’s officials said on Sunday, after five schools in a university town were closed following cluster infections among teachers and students,” the state-run tabloid, Global Times reported.
The Chinese financial hub of Shanghai, meanwhile, reported 558 cases on Sunday, down from 622 on Saturday with no new infections found outside of government quarantine, the national health commission (NHC) said on Monday.
More people in the city of 25 million were allowed outside their homes over the weekend as the city authorities gradually lift a months-long lockdown. The plan is to fully reopen the city June 1 onwards, the municipal government has said. Restrictions, however, continue in many areas of the city as health authorities try to weed out remaining infections.
Did you subscribe to our daily newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe!
Source: The Straits Times
