This restaurant, along with many others in Beijing’s Chaoyang business district, had to suspend weekend lunch services as Covid infections spiked.
Jade Gao | Afp | Getty Images
BEIJING – Three people died over the weekend after contracting Covid, the first death from the virus in mainland China since May. Shanghai was still closed.
All three men, aged between 87 and 91, had previous health problems and lived in Beijing, according to state media. The reports did not specify whether they were vaccinated or not.
The city of Beijing tightened its Covid surveillance towards the weekend as the number of local cases rose to several hundred a day, including infections with and without symptoms.
Restaurants primarily in Beijing’s business district of Chaoyang could only offer takeout or delivery. Many gyms, some supermarkets and at least one large shopping center were temporarily closed.
Classes in schools in some regions of the capital have been switched to online mode. Various housing communities were closed, residents were prohibited from leaving.
The southern province of Guangdong, particularly its capital, Guangzhou, remains the hardest hit in this month’s Covid wave. Around 1,000 Covid infections with symptoms and over 8,000 asymptomatic ones were reported in the state on Sunday.
Guangzhou authorities said on Sunday that schools in seven of the city’s 11 districts will hold classes online, while one district may gradually resume in-person classes. November 10, schools in eight districts held their classes online for most students.
Mainland China’s latest wave of Covid infections has hit all of the country’s 31 provincial-level regions, with varying degrees of restrictions on local business and social activities. On Sunday alone, mainland China reported more than 26,000 Covid infections with and without symptoms.
Vaccination for the elderly
Vaccination rates for Guangzhou’s elderly population need to be improved, with city officials noting on Sunday that 110,000 residents over the age of 60 have yet to be vaccinated. So far, only Chinese-made vaccines are available locally.
As of November, more than 90% of China’s 1.4 billion people have been vaccinated. 11, but the rate was lower for people over 80 at 65.7%, a senior health official told a briefing.
In the United States, more than 90% of people 75 and older are vaccinated, while in Singapore, at least 90% of people 80 and older are vaccinated, according to official data in each country.
Just a week ago, Chinese authorities announced that they would do just that reduce the quarantine period by two days, while focusing on making Covid surveillance more targeted, among other measures. The country maintains a strict zero-Covid policy, while the rest of the world has gone live with the Covid strategy.
