Martin Quin Pollard and David Stanway

BEIJING/SHANGHAI – China’s capital Beijing was quiet Friday, as people heeded authorities’ advice to stay at home in order to prevent the spread COVID-19. Officials locked down in Shanghai stated that they aimed to eliminate the virus by the end of the month.

Beijing officials denied Thursday rumors of widespread, Shanghai-style lockdowns. They urged people to not panic buy and to remain at home. A new round of mass tests will also be conducted in most parts of the city.

Many residents found themselves more relaxed Friday, after having rushed to the supermarkets earlier in the evening to get food and supplies.

“I am not worried. Leo Luo, 27, a 27-year-old finance sector worker said, “In fact, we all have been working at home lately anyway.”

It’s similar to how it was recently, but it might be more comprehensive.

The capital authorities had previously banned dine in at restaurants and closed many malls and entertainment venues. They also suspended portions of the subway, bus and taxi system and locked down some residential properties.

COVID curbs placed millions in major cities with varying degrees of restrictions, causing harm to consumption and manufacturing and disrupting global trade.

Travel restrictions in many countries around the globe are decreasing as they try to live with COVID. However, China announced Thursday that it will “strictly limit” foreign travel for its citizens.

Many international flights to China from and to China were cancelled in the past 2 years. But, immigration officials announced the clearest sign that this was unlikely to happen again anytime soon.

Many countries had Chinese tourists or students as a source of income before COVID arrived in Wuhan at the end of 2019.

China strongly rejected any criticisms of its “zero COVID” policy. It stated that saving lives was worth the large short-term expenses it incurs and would resume this activity once all outbreaks have been cured.

The Global Times, a state-sponsored tabloid that focuses on nationalist issues, stated in an editorial: “Those who fault China’s dynamic zero COVID strategy are not observant.”

They are trying to denigrate China and smear it. Anyone betting that China may be at high risk of self-inflicted economic recession will regret their actions.

Shanghai officials, after six weeks of almost total lockdown, have said that economic activity is slowly returning. Many factories are now operating in closed loop systems and workers live on-site.

Officials said that more than 9,000 enterprises of large scale in Shanghai are now at 50% capacity.

Economists predict that China’s economy will slow or shrink in the second quarter. This could threaten the goal of 5.5% growth.

Traded at its lowest level since September 2020.

Han Wenxiu was the deputy head for financial and economic affairs of the Communist Party. He said that China wouldn’t hesitate to adopt new policies in support of growth.

While the government is lowering taxes and funnelling funds to infrastructure projects, the central bank has increased support and cash injections into the economy.

‘SILENT MODE’

Beijing’s daily COVID cases remained low in number, just a fraction of Shanghai’s greater than 2000.

Most of Shanghai’s cases occurred in places already subject to tightest surveillance. The most important areas to monitor for signs of Shanghai’s spread are those in more open communities.

On May 12, there were four cases, up from the two reported on Monday. The Pudong area was home to all four.

Wu Qing (Shanghai’s deputy mayor) said that victory is getting closer, but fighting China’s largest-ever COVID epidemic “still requires every citizen’s joint efforts.”

Some Shanghai residents had been allowed to go outside of their homes last week for short walks or grocery shopping, but this has changed as the city tightens its controls in an effort to eliminate the virus.

Authorities are increasingly referring to “silent management mode” as an increase in the number of areas that have adopted this strategy. This typically involves boards and fences surrounding buildings and no deliveries. Residents remain indoors.

Wu explained that the city would begin to ease congestion and open stores once it has achieved “zero COVID” at the community level.

As normality resumes, it will require constant testing to ensure that COVID is not introduced. With more than 5700 stations operating, testing capacity has increased to 8 million per day.