Beijing restricts public transport as Covid spreads
BEIJING: China’s capital shut dozens of metro stations and bus routes yesterday in its campaign to stop the spread of Covid-19 and avoid the fate of Shanghai, where millions of residents have been under strict lockdown for more than a month.
China’s uncompromising battle against the coronavirus is undermining its growth and hurting the international companies invested there, according to the latest forecasts and data.
The central city of Zhengzhou, home to 12.6 million people and a factory of Apple’s iPhone manufacturer Foxconn, announced work-from-home and other Covud curbs for the coming week on Tuesday, joining dozens of big cities under some form of lockdown.
Beijing shut more than 60 subway stations, 15% of the network, and 158 bus routes, service providers said.
Most of the suspended stations and routes are in the Chaoyang district, the epicentre of Beijing’s outbreak.
With dozens of new cases a day, Beijing is trying to avoid a full lockdown, as Shanghai also did initially, instead hoping that mass testing will find and isolate the virus before it spreads.
The city of 22 million people has closed schools, restaurants, gyms and entertainment venues, as well as some businesses and residential buildings in high-risk areas.
In what will be a worrying sign for Beijing residents, workers in protective gear were seen setting up a 2m high blue metal wall around a residential complex, with a sign at the gate reading “Entry only. No exit”.
Twelve out of 16 Beijing districts conducted the second of three rounds of tests this week, having done three screenings last week.
In Shanghai, there was no end in sight for the lockdown.
After more than a month, most people in mainland China’s biggest city are still not allowed to leave their housing compounds.
The latest data showed Shanghai found 63 new cases outside areas under the strictest curbs, suggesting it has a way to go before reaching the goal of no cases for several days for curbs to ease significantly. – Reuters