Some in China return to regular activity after Covid-19 infections

BEIJING - Some people in China’s key cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan braved the cold and a

spike in Covid-19 cases

to return to regular activity on Monday, raising the prospect of a boost to the economy as more recover from infections.

Among those who gathered to sledge or ice-skate on a frozen lake in the capital’s Shichahai Park were some who were upbeat about the opening up, after China dropped stringent “zero-Covid” measures on Dec 7 to adopt a strategy of living with the virus.

But a wave of infections has since erupted nationwide, after borders had been kept all but shut for three years amid a strict regime of lockdowns and relentless testing.

“The epidemic... has given us no opportunity to come and play,” said Mr Yang, one of those in the park, who gave only one name. “After the end of this lockdown, we don’t have to scan the health code any more, nor do we have to check the travel code. So we are free now.”

A 22-year-old college student at the lake, who wanted to be known only as Mr Zhong, said he did not leave home for two or three weeks after he was infected. “Now I can go out and it’s good timing for the New Year’s Day holiday. I want to go around in Beijing, have a look and feel the festive mood.”

Monday was a public holiday, but traffic in the capital’s roads was building up again as people quickly returned to outdoor sites such as lakes and rivers as well as shopping malls. But business was still slow at some smaller, confined places such as restaurants, owners said.

The owner of a Beijing seafood restaurant said patronage had not returned to full strength. “I expect this situation to linger through the Chinese New Year holiday,” said Mr Chen, who gave only his surname. “I am counting on business to be more normal after the holiday.”

In the central city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus was first detected three years ago, people were not as anxious any more, a man surnamed Wu told Reuters.

“Work production, life and entertainment are all getting back to normal levels,” said Mr Wu, a tutor at a private training centre.

Over the three-day New Year holiday period, 52.7 million domestic tourist trips were made, a rise of 0.44 per cent over the same period a year earlier, according to government data posted on Monday.

The tourism revenue generated over the holiday has reached over 26.5 billion yuan (S$5.1 billion), up 4 per cent from a year ago.

China’s biggest holiday, Chinese New Year, begins on Jan 21 this year, and the railway network is expected to carry 5.5 million passengers, said state broadcaster CCTV.

The authorities at Tibet’s spectacular Potala Palace said it would open again for visitors from Tuesday, after shutting in August 2022 due to a Covid-19 outbreak.

Some hotels in the tourist attraction of Sanya on the southern island of Hainan are already fully booked for Chinese New Year, media outlets have said.

In recent days, the state media had sought to reassure the public that the Covid-19 outbreak was under control and nearing its peak.

Infections in the cities of Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Chongqing are close to ending, news outlet Caixin said on Sunday, citing researchers in the Chinese commercial hub of Shanghai.

But infections will peak in the urban regions of Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai in the latter half of January, they added.

Over 80 per cent of those living in the south-western province of Sichuan have been infected, its Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said last Saturday.

China reported one Covid-19 death for Jan 1, compared with one death a day earlier, the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday. The death toll was raised to 5,250.

China’s official death toll since the pandemic began is a far cry from the more than one million deaths in the United States. Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, a city of 7.4 million, has reported more than 11,000 deaths.

Around 9,000 people in China are probably dying each day from Covid-19, health data firm Airfinity, which is based in Britain, said last week.

Cumulative deaths in China since Dec 1 have probably reached 100,000, with infections at 18.6 million, it said.

Airfinity expects China’s Covid-19 infections to reach their first peak on Jan 13, with 3.7 million daily infections.

China has said it counts only deaths of Covid-19 patients caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure as Covid-19-related.

The relatively low death count is also inconsistent with surging demand reported by funeral parlours in several cities.

Meanwhile, China’s Ministry of Public Security has ordered a strict crackdown on the production and sale of counterfeit Covid-19-related medicines, as well as relevant medical devices such as testing kits, oximeters and oxygenerators.

According to a statement issued on Monday, the ministry has ordered relevant police forces across the country to keep a close eye on the production, wholesale and retail activities of Covid-19-related medical supplies, as well as relevant trading on online platforms.

It has also asked the police to work with other authorities to investigate possible violations reported by members of the public.

It pledged special attention to organised or serial violations, and those involving multiple regions, to bust criminal networks. and cut their profit chains.

Qatar on Monday joined a growing list of countries, including the United States and India, which have imposed Covid-19 tests for travellers from China over concerns about the scale of the new outbreak and scepticism over Beijing’s health statistics. REUTERS, XINHUA