On Monday, students at schools spread across a number of Beijing districts hunkered down for online courses after officials urged people in some of the city’s hardest-hit neighborhoods to stay at home as COVID cases in the Chinese capital and around the country increased.
From Zhengzhou in the center of Henan Province to Chongqing in the southwest, China is battling several COVID-19 flare-ups. On Sunday, it recorded 26,824 new local cases, which was almost as many as the nation’s daily pandemic high in April.
Additionally, it noted two fatalities in Beijing, up from just one on Saturday — the country’s first since late May.
In order to contain the greatest recent epidemic in China, Guangzhou, a southern city of over 19 million people, imposed a five-day lockdown on Baiyun, its most populous area. Additionally, it closed nightclubs and theatres in the city’s central business center and halted dine-in services.
China’s resolve to adhere to changes it has made to its zero-COVID policy, which calls for cities to be more targeted in their clampdown measures and avoid widespread lockdowns and testing that have stifled the economy and irritated residents, is being put to the test by the most recent wave.
As investors worried about the economic effects of the escalating COVID crisis in China, Asian share markets and oil prices fell on Monday. Bonds and the dollar benefited from the risk aversion.
962 new illnesses were recorded in Beijing, up from 621 the day before. With schools moving online, its vast Chaoyang district, which is home to 3.5 million people, asked citizens to stay at home.
Residents were instructed to work from home since the streets were quiet. Other than grocery stores, most shops looked to be closed.
“You have nowhere to go. Everything is shut. Customers are also unable to enter. How can you help? You have no options “explained 32-year-old salesman for the medical sector Jia Xi.
Some schools in the districts of Haidian, Dongcheng, and Xicheng also stopped offering in-person instruction.
To read our blog on “Your next COVID-19 shot might be a sniff away”,” click here
