Beijingers told to work from home as city shuts transport, schools and restaurants
Millions of Beijingers have been asked to work from home and authorities have sealed off more than 60 subway stations, most of them in Chaoyang district, as the capital doubles down on efforts to tame the Omicron variant.
Beijing reported 39 new cases – 34 of them symptomatic – yesterday, taking the total to 544 since April 22. While the number is not high, the city has imposed stringent curbs to prevent a major outbreak before the Communist Party’s national congress later in the year.
The restrictions also include several rounds of citywide mass testing and postponement of in-person classes for pupils and middle school students until next Thursday. Municipal authorities said the pandemic was still unchecked and precautions must be maintained.
“This wave of the pandemic has affected 15 districts. It has spread fast in a wide range of areas,” Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing Centre of Disease Prevention and Control said yesterday.
“There are still hidden sources of infection. Chains of transmission have not been completely blocked,” she said, suggesting the curbs will not be removed in the short term.
Companies must have no more than half of their employees working in the office. For jobs that cannot be done elsewhere, companies should negotiate with their employees and pay no lower than the minimum wage.
Residents must show a negative result from a PCR test taken within the previous 48 hours to enter any office buildings in the city. Dine-in services are banned in all restaurants and people are encouraged to order takeaways or cook for themselves, according to the city government.
Entertainment and sports venues, from karaoke lounges to gyms and cinemas, have been closed indefinitely and afterschool activities, such as chess and dance clubs, are prohibited.
For those who did make it to the office yesterday, the commute was much longer and tougher.
Tian Wen, 32, lives in Chaoyang and usually has a 25-minute subway trip to her office in Dongcheng district 7km away. With no subway, bus or taxi services, Tian went looking for a shared bike.
“I got up early at 7am to get the nucleic acid test done,” she said. “I queued up for about 20 minutes. It’s all right. After several rounds of mass testing in the past few weeks, I’m getting used to it.
“Then came the unexpected part. I walked for 10 minutes and failed to find any bicycles on the roadside. I had to walk another 10 minutes to have any luck. By that time, I was sweaty and had sore feet,” she said