Beijing Shuts Down Tourism Attractions After Covid Cases Spike Again

25.08.2023 - 14:39 / skift.com / Xi Jinping

Beijing shut parks, malls and museums on Tuesday while more Chinese cities resumed mass testing for Covid-19 as authorities struggle with a spike in cases that has deepened concern about the economy and dimmed hopes for a quick reopening.

China reported 28,127 new domestically transmitted cases for Monday, nearing its daily peak from April, with infections in the southern city of Guangzhou and the southwestern municipality of Chongqing accounting for about half the total.

In Beijing, cases have been hitting new highs every day, prompting calls from the city government for more residents to stay put and show proof of a negative Covid test, not more than 48 hours old, to get into public buildings.

The wave of infections is testing recent adjustments China has made to its zero-Covid policy, aimed at making authorities more targeted in clampdown measures and steering them away from blanket lockdowns and testing that have strangled the economy and frustrated residents nearly three years into the pandemic.

“Some of our friends went bankrupt, and some lost their jobs,” said a 50-year-old Beijing retiree surnamed Zhu.

“We can’t do many activities we intended to do, and it is impossible to travel. So we really hope that the pandemic can end as soon as possible,” she said.

Health authorities attributed two more deaths to Covid-19, after three over the weekend, which were China’s first since May.

Shanghai on Tuesday ordered the closure of cultural and entertainment venues in seven of its 16 districts after reporting 48 new local infections, while the city of Tianjin, near Beijing, became the latest to order city-wide testing.

Even after the adjusted guidelines, China remains a global outlier with its strict Covid restrictions, including borders that remain all-but-shut.

Tightening measures in Beijing and elsewhere, even as China tries to avoid city-wide lockdowns like the one that crippled Shanghai this year, have renewed investor worries about the world’s second-largest economy, weighing on stocks and prompting analysts to cut forecasts for China’s year-end oil demand.

Brokerage Nomura said its in-house index estimated that localities accounting for about 19.9 percent of China’s total gross domestic product were under some form of lockdown or curbs, up from 15.6 percent last Monday and not far off the index’s peak in April, during Shanghai’s lockdown.

The government argues that President Xi Jinping’s signature zero-Covid policy saves lives and is necessary to prevent the healthcare system becoming overwhelmed.

But many frustrated social media users drew a comparison with maskless fans at the soccer World Cup, which began on Sunday in Qatar.

“Tens of thousands in Qatar don’t wear masks. And we are still