Beijing | Authorities have announced that a man in Beijing is under investigation for failing to comply with isolation rules, which has led to thousands of residents being quarantined, as the Chinese capital lifts anti-COVID.19 restrictions.
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The city, a period threatened by confinement, the closure of schools, non-essential businesses and public places at the beginning of the month after the resurgence of the epidemic. Residents of dwellings where positive cases have been recorded are booked.
On Sunday, authorities said a Beijing man in his 40s had broken anti-Covid rules by leaving his home. It is under investigation.
The man, who went to a shopping center with “high risks” in terms of health, was supposed to enter solitary confinement.
Its deviation has been tested positive, and has resulted in 250 immediate neighbors being placed in a quarantine center, while another 5,000 residents have had to self-isolate at home.
Beijing has been on alert since early May in the face of an epidemic outbreak that has exceeded 1,700 cases, a high number for China, which has a strict zero-Covid policy.
The relative improvement in health in recent days has allowed much of the city’s transportation to resume, while face-to-face work was again allowed on Monday in certain areas.
But screening tests of less than 48 hours are still required at the entrances to public places, particularly supermarkets.
The capital’s parks have managed to reopen 50%, including Ritan in central Beijing, where a small number of residents were practicing tai chi on Monday.
“People are waiting to see if there will be new (positive) cases before they emerge in large numbers,” Zhe Ru, an official who came for a walk with his five-year-old told AFP.
Schools remain closed, and there is no sign of when they will reopen.
In Shanghai, which has been completely confined since the beginning of April, many restrictions have been lifted in recent days thanks to a sharp drop in the number of positive cases.
The Ministry of Health announced 66 new cases of infection in China’s largest city on Monday – up from more than 25,000 at the end of last month.
However, residents can only go out for a few hours per day at best.
