Beijing’s daily COVID-19 cases are in the dozens, much lower than Shanghai’s at this point in its outbreak, when infections were in the triple digits and rising
Shanghai authorities were tightening the city-wide COVID lockdown they imposed more than a month ago, prolonging into late May an ordeal that China’s capital Beijing was desperate to avoid by turning mass testing into an almost daily routine.
“This is so that we can thoroughly remove any positive cases,” one of the officers is heard saying. “Stop asking me why, there is no why. We have to adhere to national guidelines.”The Shanghai government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The measures mark a sharp contrast with most of the world, which is easing or removing COVID curbs to live with the virus even as infections spread.
“North of us are malls and offices that have been sealed, and their apps might mark them as close contacts if they came,” said a barber surnamed Song, referring to the mobile monitoring software all residents must use.Premier Li Keqiang in a teleconference with other top officials pledged on Saturday to support “as many employers as possible,” especially among small and midsize firms, to keep people in their jobs, state media reported.