‘A Tragic Year’: How Beijingers Are Handling Their Second Wave
Beijing Outbreak Tops 150 in China’s Worst Flare-Up Since Wuhan
(Bloomberg) -- Beijing resident Valentina Xiang will graduate from eight years of medical school this month with little fanfare, after a fresh coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese capital put an end to all her celebration plans.
“This is a tragic year,” said the 26-year-old, who is also preparing to postpone her wedding scheduled for October for a second time. “I don’t even want to think about it. The only plan for the rest of year is staying at home.”
The new cluster of infections, which emerged after a lull of nearly two months, has grown to more than 150 infections in less than a week and spread to at least four other Chinese provinces. While the daily count of new cases is slowing from previous days, health officials have warned that the outbreak is expected to continue to grow.
The city has ramped up containment measures -- canceling flights, closing schools and restricting residential compounds -- though the actions so far aren’t as harsh as those taken recently to control smaller flareups in other parts of the country. The impact on daily life, however, is already being keenly felt, along with anxiety that restrictions could quickly escalate to the same level implemented during the height of China’s initial epidemic.
Activity in Beijing has slowed considerably as residents fear the spread of infection. According to data published by social network Weibo, daily passenger numbers on the subway fell sharply again this week, reversing a steady recovery since the initial outbreak. It’s a reminder that China’s overall economic recovery remains vulnerable to setbacks until the virus is eradicated.
While Beijing has avoided a citywide lockdown, movement has been restricted in areas where cases have been detected. Multiple markets have been shut down as infections were found, with strict restrictions implemented in nearby residential compounds.
Jerry Wang lives in one of those compounds, close to the Yuquandong market in Beijing’s Haidian district where a virus case was found on June 13. Residents were told as early as Saturday that they’re not allowed to leave the complex without certain permits from their employers.
“We are saying farewell again to the back-to-normal life we have been enjoying in the past month,” said the elementary school teacher. “Even if the bars and gyms are not yet closed, I can hardly find a friend who’s willing to join me. I’m now fully mentally prepared to stay at home for the rest of 2020.”
The resurgence is shaping up to be a sobering warning to other nations about the difficulty of eradicating the pathogen that has infected more than 8.3 million people worldwide. Japan has also seen a flare-up of new cases in its capital of Tokyo, while New Zealand’s brief period of being virus-free was interrupted this week by travelers who were improperly quarantined and tested positive. In the U.S., states like Texas and Arizona are reporting record-high new infections.
The source of Beijing’s outbreak remains unclear, though Chinese officials have indicated they think it came from Europe. Salmon is being boycotted in China after the virus was found on the chopping board of a vendor selling the imported seafood and authorities are now testing some food imports before allowing them in the country. Scientists say that there’s no evidence that food can transmit the pathogen, but that’s not assuring some residents.
“Many Japanese restaurants in Beijing might go out of business as I doubt anyone still dares to eat raw seafood in the foreseeable future,” said Joyce Zhang, 25, who works in the finance industry. “I suspended my gym membership just now though it’s not closed yet, because the epidemic is getting too severe to ignore.”
Some residents are taking a more relaxed approach with the view that the virus is here to stay.
Yu Le visited the Xinfadi market where the first case in the new outbreak was discovered last week, where he purchased salmon, which he continues to consume. Yu and his family, who live three kilometers from the market, were tested for the virus on Monday but haven’t received their results because of the surge in tests that have to be processed.
“I think the experts’ advice that we have to be prepared to co-exist with the virus for a long time is indeed correct,” said the 39-year-old media professional. “Overly panicking or ignoring the problem should both be avoided.”
The city has embarked on an aggressive contact tracing and mass testing campaign to track down infections and isolate residents who are at risk. Volunteers began knocking on doors over the weekend, and many companies have also asked employees to report if they’d been to areas where cases have been found.
Authorities on Wednesday said they had tested around 356,000 individuals since June 13 and planned to test another 355,000 Wednesday. So far, 158 confirmed cases have been detected.
“This is a ‘back to where we started’ kind of feeling,” said Olivia Li, a 58-year-old engineer who works for a state-owned enterprise, adding that the shutdown of markets which provide the vast majority of the city’s food supplies is also worrying. “I think it’s more severe this time because it’s happening in the capital city of Beijing.”
Officials are grappling with striking a balance between containment and keeping the economy running in the city of more than 20 million, where the country’s business and political elite reside. An across-the-board lockdown risks undoing some of China’s economic re-opening and could also undermine confidence in the government’s ability to handle the pandemic.
For foreigners, the prospect of being able to travel home or return to the city have again dimmed after signs that China was beginning to ease restrictions with some countries. Hundreds more flights in and out of Beijing were canceled on Thursday, according to the websites of the city’s airports.
Laurent Capt, vice president of China Rise Financial Holding Investment Co. Ltd., said his company canceled all business trips and he’s anticipating he’ll spend the year-end holidays in Beijing this year.
The question isn’t when the latest outbreak will end, he said, but rather “it’s about a new lifestyle, to face with more comfort this type of crisis.”
Beijing also tightened outbound domestic travel further, saying people who have confirmed infections, are suspected to be infected, or had been in close contact with patients or people with fevers were banned from leaving the city. Residents in areas deemed medium and high-risk are also barred from leaving. But as anxiety grows, few want to travel even if they can.
“We were all caught off guard,” said 51-year-old Beijing resident Xia Li. “I canceled our family trip to Sanya in Hainan province yesterday. How can we dare to take a flight out of Beijing when we are not even willing to take a step out of our house?”
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
With assistance from Bloomberg