Some people in China’s major cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan braved the cold and a surge in COVID-19 infections to return to regular activities on Monday, hoping to boost the economy as more recover from the infection.
Among those who gathered to sled or ice skate on the frozen lake at Shichahai Lake Park in the capital, there were some optimistic about the opening, after China abandoned strict “zero-COVID” measures on December 7 to adopt a strategy of living with those people. virus.
However, a wave of infections began to erupt across the country, after borders were closed entirely for just three years amid a strict lockdown regime and relentless testing.
“After this lockdown is over, we won’t have to scan the health code anymore, and we won’t have to check the travel code either,” said one person at the park, Yang, who gave only one name.
“So now we’re free.”
Also at the lake was Zhong, a 22-year-old student, who said he had been staying at home for two or three weeks after contracting the infection.
“Now I can go out and it’s a good time for the New Year holidays,” he said. “I want to go around Beijing, see and feel the festive atmosphere.”
Monday is a public holiday, but traffic in the capital has picked up again in recent days as people flock to outdoor sites, although business is still slow in some smaller locations, such as restaurants.
The owner of a Beijing seafood restaurant said customers have not returned in full force.
“I expect this situation to persist during the Lunar New Year holiday,” said Chen, who gave only his first name. “I think business is more normal after the holidays.”
In the central city of Wuhan, where the pandemic began three years ago, people are no longer worried, a man surnamed Wu told Reuters.
“Work production, life and entertainment are all back to normal levels,” added Wu, a tutor at a private training center. read more
LUNAR NEW YEAR
China’s biggest holiday, Chinese New Year, begins on January 21 this year, when the railway network will carry 5.5 million passengers, state broadcaster CCTV said.
As hopes for holiday travel soar, authorities at Tibet’s spectacular Potala Palace say it will open to visitors from January 3, after being closed last August due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Several hotels in the southern tourist resort of Sanya are fully booked for the Lunar New Year, media said.
In recent times, the state media has sought to reassure the public that the COVID-19 outbreak is under control and that it is nearing completion.
Infections in the cities of Beijing, Guanzhou, Shanghai and Chongqing are close to ending, Caixin news outlet said on Sunday, citing researchers in China’s commercial center.
But infections will rise in urban areas of Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai in the latter half of January, he added.
More than 80% of people living in southwestern Sichuan have been infected, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
But Monday’s single new COVID-19 death – flat from the previous day – among China’s population of 1.4 billion does not match the experience of other countries after reopening.
The official death toll of 5,250 since the pandemic began compared to more than 1 million in the United States. Chinese-controlled Hong Kong, a city of 7.4 million, has reported more than 11,000 deaths.
About 9,000 people in China may die each day from COVID, health data company Airfinity said last week, while the cumulative death toll since Dec. 1 may have reached 100,000, with 18.6 million infections.
Airfinity, which is based in the UK, expects the number of COVID cases in China to reach its first peak on January 13, with 3.7 million infections per day.
China said it was only counting deaths of COVID patients caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure related to COVID.
The relatively low number of deaths is also inconsistent with the high demand reported by funeral homes in some cities.
Source: Reuters
| Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not reflect Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no legal or other responsibility for the accuracy of the content. Please report inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a priority. |
Featured Videos