China has ruled out any relaxation of its cross-border policies, citing Covid-19 surges at home and overseas as it battles the worst outbreaks since the start of the pandemic.
Stricter control measures have also been introduced in the capital Beijing, along with an expansion of online teaching, despite only 12 positive samples from the first round of mass testing of about 20 million residents.
And in the southern city of Guangzhou, mass testing was ordered for all residents in Baiyun and Huadu districts after an “abnormal” result was picked up on Wednesday night from the routine testing of employees at the international airport.
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Most flights were cancelled as the airport was put in “effective control”, with some domestic travel expected to resume on Thursday afternoon.
National immigration authority spokesman Chen Jie told a closed media briefing late on Wednesday that the country would continue to implement a “strict and tight” policy during the outbreak.
According to a statement issued after the briefing, Chen said the immigration authority was resolute in playing its official role in the dynamic zero strategy, through strict border controls to prevent the introduction of the virus from overseas.
“The immigration management agencies at all borders will continue to maintain the highest level of prevention and control.”
Chen said there were 30.09 million outbound trips in the first three months of the year, 14.62 million by Chinese residents – a 1.2 per cent decrease on the previous quarter and a 5.9 per cent fall on the same period last year.
While China’s political centre Beijing resorts to drastic measures to try and stop infections at an early stage, its financial powerhouse Shanghai has been in lockdown for more than a month. At least 15 provinces have also recorded local infections in recent days.
Beijing responded swiftly to a small outbreak of six cases last Friday, ordering almost citywide mass testing, with the aim of completing three rounds by Saturday. The first round picked up 12 positive samples, according to local health official Li Ang.
The cases were picked up in pool testing which has three to 10 samples in one test and the infected people had been identified, isolated and contact tracing had been done, Li said. The second round of testing began on Wednesday.
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Beijing is only months away from hosting the 20th Communist Party Congress, the most important political event of the year which is expected to take place in the autumn.
A major power reshuffle is on the cards and party secretary President Xi Jinping is expected to be given an unprecedented third term. China’s handling of the pandemic is seen as a key part of the legacy of both Xi and the party.
There was a slight spike in Beijing’s local infections on Thursday morning, with 50 positive cases to bring the total in this outbreak to 164. About 30 per cent of the infected were students, prompting several districts to suspend in-school classes.
In Tongzhou district – home of the city’s administrative offices – all schools from kindergarten upwards switched to online learning after a teacher and three students tested positive.
Several other districts, including Xicheng and Chaoyang, have also ordered schools to close and move classes online.
Chaoyang, where the first cases in the outbreak were reported – and which has had the highest concentration of infections so far – added more temporary control areas on Thursday morning.
People in the control areas must not leave their residential estates and shops, restaurants, entertainment venues and stadiums have been closed.
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Offices buildings in the district are also demanding extra proof of negative status before granting entry. In addition to a green health code – which shows there has been no travel to at-risk areas in the past two weeks – people must also provide a negative nucleic test result from the previous 48 hours.
One notice to tenants in Chaoyang’s CBD said: “According to requirements of epidemic control in the district, all people entering the building need to produce those two reports ... please take with you office equipment such as computers for emergencies.”
Temporary control areas were also declared in two villages in Guangzhou’s Huadu district, where the affected airport is located. Residents have been banned from leaving and schools have switched to online learning. Social venues have been ordered to close, at least until the end of Friday.
More from South China Morning Post:
- Coronavirus: China urged to be ‘more precise and scientific’ with controls as economic toll mounts
- Coronavirus: Shanghai’s Covid-19 cases drop for fourth day amid plans to ease lockdown
- China shifts Covid-19 focus to Beijing outbreak as Shanghai’s new cases fall to 21-day low
- Coronavirus: China’s small firms bemoan lack of support as Omicron wave threatens economic recovery
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