Months after imposing a strict lockdown guideline in Beijing, China's COVID-19 cases continue to subside.
However, on June 18, Shenzhen officials detected a single local case that triggered mass testing and lockdowns in some parts of the city.
On June 19, two cases of COVID-19 were detected in the area.
Shenzhen's COVID-19 Cases
According to South China Morning Post, the COVID-19 outbreaks in Beijing and Mongolia have been brought under control since February, and there haven't been any widespread restrictions since then.
Despite the improvement, the local government does not want to take risks. In-person teaching at elementary schools in Shanghai and Beijing is still halted, and some areas in the cities are still under lockdown.
Mainland China has imposed border restrictions for the first time in eight months after a reported outbreak in Macau.
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In Shanghai, residents are required to get tested every week. Several districts in Beijing and other cities in the country also require regular COVID-19 testing, especially for those working in high-risk industries, including retail employees, bus drivers, factory workers, and taxi drivers.
In Shenzhen, local authorities imposed home isolation orders on residential compounds in the Luohu and Futian districts after cases of asymptomatic infection were reported.
The Spread of the Omicron Variant
The omicron variant, which is known to be highly contagious, was detected in China between March and early June. This has forced authorities to impose extensive lockdowns that carried high costs for the economy.
China's deployment of restrictions shows that the country still pursues a zero-tolerance strategy that has left it isolated from the rest of the world. The restrictions were imposed with little to no warning, prompting protests from the residents.
Residents Get Back to Work
According to Bloomberg, 23 of China's 31 mainland provinces had no recorded COVID-19 cases in the past week. It is only Beijing that has more than 20 cases a day.
On June 19, China reported 24 new infections overall, with 13 recorded in Shanghai.
Since the number of cases has subsided, the residents of the infected cities are going out more. The number of subway trips increased to 9% last week.
From June 19 to June 22, an average of 47 million subway trips in the top 11 cities were recorded.
Shanghai's subway system is reportedly returning to normal, with people taking 6 million rides as of June 22. However, that is still less than the 9.8 million rides that were reported in 2021.
The Chinese government is still limiting inter-province travel. Some domestic travelers are forced to quarantine in hotels because of outbreaks in their cities or because they have come from medium or high-risk cities like Shanghai.
China is also building the infrastructure to make testing for the virus a routine in several cities. Thousands of testing booths are set up across the country's largest cities. Domestic travelers and residents can take a swab test in just 15 minutes.
According to Borneo Bulletin, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Beijing residents are required to take a swab test every 48 hours, and they need to provide a negative result before they can get on the subway or enter an establishment.
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Written by Sophie Webster
