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“It is a tragic year,” said the 26-year-old, who is preparing to postpone her wedding for the second time in October. – I don’t even want to think about it. The only plan for the rest of the year is to stay home. “
The new number of infections increased after nearly two months of respite to more than 150 cases in less than a week, spreading the infection to at least four other provinces. While the growth of new cases is slowing daily compared to previous days, health officials warn that the outbreak is likely to spread.
The city has tightened restrictions: canceling flights, closing schools, and imposing restrictions on residential complexes, but the measures, so far at least, are not as stringent as those recently taken to control smaller access points in other parts of the world. country. However, the impact on daily life is already being felt, and there is growing concern that restrictions may move quickly to the same level as during the peak of the Chinese epidemic.
Movement in the city has slowed significantly as residents fear the spread of the infection. According to the Weibo social network, the number of subway passengers per day has decreased considerably this week, although traffic has been growing steadily since the outbreak began. This is a sign that the country’s economic recovery remains fragile and that so-called “relapses” are possible until the virus is finally eradicated.
Beijing is avoiding quarantine across the city, and movement is restricted to areas where cases of infection have been reported. With the establishment of a fireplace in the wholesale food market, several markets have been closed and severe restrictions have been imposed on adjacent residential complexes.
Jerry Wang lives in one of these apartment complexes, near the Yukwandong Market in Beijing’s Haidan district, where an outbreak was diagnosed on June 13. Residents were still told Saturday not to leave the complex without special permission from their employers.
“Once again, we say goodbye to the normal life we have returned to and enjoyed in the past month,” said the elementary teacher. – Even if the bars and gyms are not yet closed, it is difficult to find a friend who wants to support me in the company. I am currently preparing psychologically to stay home for the rest of 2020. “
The new jump in cases could be a serious warning to other countries of how difficult it is to eradicate a pathogen that has infected more than 8.3 million people. People around the world. A new chimney has also been registered in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Meanwhile, a brief period of virus-free life in New Zealand was interrupted this week by travelers who were inappropriately quarantined. In the United States, states like Texas and Arizona report record rates of new infections.
The source of the Beijing outbreak remains unclear, although Chinese authorities believe the virus comes from Europe. Salmon has been boycotted in China since the outbreak was linked to a cutting board where a supplier found a virus that sold imported seafood; The country’s government tests some imported foods before allowing them to be marketed in the country. The researchers say there is no evidence that the pathogen can be transmitted through food.
Some residents take a more liberal approach: They think the virus will survive here.
Yu Lee visited the Sinfadi market, where the first case was detected on June 13, and bought salmon, which he still consumes. He and his family, who live three kilometers from the market, were evaluated Monday, but have yet to obtain results due to heavy laboratory loads.
“In my opinion, the expert advice we need to prepare ourselves to live with the virus for a long time is reasonable,” said the 39-year-old media professional. “Two things should be avoided the same way: excessive panic and ignoring the problem.”
The city has launched an aggressive contact-tracking campaign and massive testing to track infections and isolate populations that are particularly at risk from the virus. Volunteers knock on residents’ doors on weekends and ask if they have visited the Sinfadi vegetable market or had contact with them. In addition, many companies ask employees to report if they have visited places where infections have been identified.
Authorities said Wednesday they had examined about 356,000 people since June 13 and plan to evaluate another 355,000 on Wednesday. 158 cases have been confirmed so far.
“It seems like we’re going back to where we started,” said Olivia Li, a 58-year-old engineer who works for a state-owned company, adding that closing the markets that supply most of the city’s food is also a concern. “In my opinion, this case is even more difficult because everything is happening in the capital, Beijing.”
Officials are doing everything possible to strike a balance between austerity policies and support the functioning of the economy in the capital, with more than $ 20 million. population: in the city where the country’s business and political elite live. Large-scale quarantine could respond to part of China’s open economy and could undermine confidence in the government’s ability to handle a pandemic.
For foreigners, the prospects of moving home or returning to the city have blurred, although recently there have been signs that China is beginning to ease restrictions in some states. Several hundred more flights to and from Beijing were canceled on Thursday, the city’s airport website reports.
Beijing has also toughened foreign travel, declaring that people with a confirmed infection or suspected of being infected, or in close contact with sick or feverish people, are prohibited from leaving the city.
According to Laurent Capto, China Rise Financial Holding Investment Co. Ltd., his company has canceled all business trips, and he plans to spend his own vacation in Beijing later this year.
Now it’s not so important to know when the new outbreak will end, he said. More questions arise about “a new way of life to resist this type of crisis in the most comfortable and calm way possible.”
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