Beijing residents remained on edge on Tuesday as authorities announced new measures to contain a small but growing outbreak of coronavirus cases, in a bid to avoid a lockdown like the one imposed in Shanghai.
“I feel pessimistic,” said Yang Hui, 37, a sales manager in Beijing. “What happened in Shanghai was a cautionary tale.”
Ms Yang said she had already prepared for the possibility of an indefinite lockdown. Last week, she ordered several boxes of instant noodles and cat litter after a positive case was discovered near her home.
Fortunately for Ms. Yang, authorities have stopped instituting a citywide lockdown — at least until now. But she said the government’s containment measures were increasingly disrupting her life in other ways.
Twice in the past week, she dutifully lined up with neighbors outside her apartment building to participate in the government’s mandatory mass testing campaign. Last week, she canceled dinner plans with friends because she didn’t feel like getting the Covid test the city needs to dine in restaurants.
Subsequently, officials banned dining in restaurants altogether and ordered nightspots to close. The reopening of schools, which were closed in the run-up to a national holiday, has been postponed by at least a week. And residents now have to prove they’ve tested negative in the past 48 hours, only to enter public areas, including public transport.
“It’s hard to plan anything in advance,” said Ms. Yang, who is now busy arranging childcare for her two children. “I’m so tired of Covid and the so-called ‘zero Covid’ strategy.”
Beijing reported 53 new locally transmitted cases on Tuesday, bringing the total from the recent outbreak to 453. The number of cases remains relatively low compared to Shanghai’s, which reported 5,669 new cases. At the peak of the outbreak last month, Shanghai reported as many as 27,000 cases per day.
In Beijing, the government on Tuesday ordered the closure of indoor museum exhibits, including those at the Palace Museum, one of the city’s top tourist destinations. Commuters entering and leaving Beijing now also have to show proof of a negative coronavirus test taken in the past 48 hours, or a green health code on the government app China uses to track an individual’s risk of Covid.
For many residents, the restrictions put a damper on the five-day national holiday that began Saturday. Some people have found solutions. Over the weekend, crowds gathered on the banks of the Liangma River, which meanders through the center of town, for picnics and foot massages.
But the revelry didn’t last long. High barriers had been erected along the river on Tuesday to block gatherings.
“It’s a shame,” said Jenny Fan, 29, who lives in Beijing and saw the crowds over the weekend. “People just want to have fun during this difficult time.”