Associated Press

Beijing extends work-from-home order as COVID-19 cases rise

AP Photo/Chen Si
A restaurant closed to dine-in customers is open for takeout orders of ingredients for customers to self cook in Shanghai, China, Sunday, May 22, 2022.

15:57 JST, May 23, 2022

BEIJING (AP) — Beijing extended orders for workers and students to stay home and ordered additional mass testing Monday as cases of COVID-19 again rose in the Chinese capital.

Numerous residential compounds in the city have restricted movement in and out, although conditions remain far less severe than in Shanghai, where millions of citizens have been under varying degrees of lockdown for two months.

Beijing on Monday reported an uptick in cases to 99, rising from a previous daily average of around 50.

In total, China reported 802 new cases Monday, marking a steady decline interrupted only by small-scale localized outbreaks. Despite that, the government has hewed to strict quarantine, lockdown and testing measures under its “zero-COVID” approach, even while the outside world is opening up.

Shanghai reported 480,000 people were still confined to their homes, while 1.59 million were permitted to move around their neighborhoods and 21.2 million were under lighter restrictions.

The reopening of transport links out of Shanghai created an exodus of migrant workers and foreigners, desperate to escape shortages of food, medicine and daily necessities. Among those who remain, many were still restricted to one hour of shopping time, entrusted with bringing home supplies for their entire building.