BEIJING: Students in schools across several Beijing districts buckled down for online classes on Monday (Nov 21) after officials called for residents in some of its hardest-hit areas to stay home, as COVID-19 cases in China ticked higher.
China is fighting numerous COVID-19 flare-ups, from Zhengzhou in central Henan province to Chongqing in the southwest and on Sunday reported 26,824 new local cases, nearing April’s peaks. It also recorded two deaths in Beijing, up from one on Saturday, which was China’s first since late May.
Guangzhou, a southern city of nearly 19 million people is battling the largest of China’s recent outbreaks, ordered a five-day lockdown for its most populous Baiyun district. It also suspended dine-in services and shut night clubs and theatres in Tianhe, home to the city’s main business district.
Asian share markets and oil prices slipped on Monday as investors fretted about the economic fallout from the intensifying COVID-19 situation in China, with the risk aversion benefiting bonds and the dollar.
The latest wave is testing China’s resolve to stick to adjustments it has made to its zero-COVID policy, which calls for cities to be more targeted in their clampdown measures and steer away from catch-all lockdowns and testing that have strangled the economy and frustrated residents.
Several Chinese cities began cutting routine community COVID-19 testing last week, including the northern city of Shijiazhuang, which became the subject of fervent speculation that it could be a test bed for policy relaxation. This sparked worry among some local residents.
But late on Sunday, Shijiazhuang announced it would conduct mass testing in six of its eight districts over the next five days after new daily local cases hit 641. It also encouraged residents to shop online and ordered some schools to suspend in-person teaching.
“They lasted a week,” said one popular comment on Weibo on Shijiazhuang’s curbs, which was among the most viewed topics on the social media platform.
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