China COVID cases rise, hard-hit Beijing tightens entry rules - Reuters

BEIJING, Nov 21 (Reuters) - China's superior warned connected Monday that it was facing its astir terrible trial of the COVID-19 pandemic, shutting businesses and schools successful hard-hit districts and tightening rules for entering the metropolis arsenic infections ticked higher successful Beijing and nationally.

China is warring galore COVID-19 flare ups, from Zhengzhou successful cardinal Henan state to Chongqing successful the southwest. It reported 26,824 caller section cases for Sunday, nearing the country's regular corruption highest successful April.

It besides recorded 2 deaths successful Beijing, up from 1 connected Saturday, which was China's archetypal since precocious May.

Guangzhou, a confederate metropolis of astir 19 cardinal radical that is battling the largest of China's caller outbreaks, ordered a five-day lockdown for Baiyun, its astir populous district. It besides suspended dine-in services and unopen nighttime clubs and theatres successful the city's main concern district.

The latest question is investigating China's resoluteness to instrumentality to adjustments it has made to its zero-COVID policy, which calls for cities to beryllium much targeted successful their clampdown measures and steer distant from wide lockdowns and investigating that person strangled the system and frustrated residents.

Asian stock markets and oil prices slipped connected Monday amid capitalist interest implicit the economical fallout from the intensifying COVID concern successful China, with the hazard aversion benefiting bonds and the dollar.

Beijing reported 962 caller infections connected Sunday, up from 621 a time earlier, and a further 316 cases for the archetypal 15 hours of Monday.

City authorities said radical arriving successful the superior from elsewhere successful China would request to acquisition 3 days of COVID investigating earlier they are permitted to permission their homes oregon accommodation.

"The metropolis is facing its astir analyzable and terrible prevention and power concern since the outbreak of the coronavirus," Liu Xiaofeng, the lawman manager of Beijing's municipal Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, told a media briefing.

'YOU CAN'T GO ANYWHERE'

Residents successful Beijing's sprawling Chaoyang district, location to 3.5 cardinal radical arsenic good arsenic embassies and bureau complexes, were urged to enactment home, with schools going online.

Streets were unusually quiet, and stores successful the territory different than those selling groceries appeared mostly shut.

Restaurants were bare but for 1 oregon 2 unit huddled astatine entrances astir tiny tables showing "takeout only" signs.

"You can't spell anywhere. Everything's closed. Customers cannot come, either. What tin you do? You tin bash nothing," said Jia Xi, 32, a aesculapian manufacture salesman.

Staff astatine gathering entrances carried retired strict checks of mobile telephone wellness apps with the bid present acquainted to each Beijingers: "Scan the code!"

CHANGE OF APPROACH

Several Chinese cities began cutting regular assemblage COVID-19 investigating past week, including the bluish metropolis of Shijiazhuang, which became the taxable of fervent speculation that it could beryllium a trial furniture for argumentation relaxation.

But precocious connected Sunday, Shijiazhuang announced it would behaviour wide investigating successful six of its 8 districts implicit the adjacent 5 days aft caller regular section cases deed 641. It besides encouraged residents to store online and ordered immoderate schools to suspend in-person teaching.

"They lasted a week," said 1 fashionable remark connected Weibo connected Shijiazhuang's curbs, which was among the astir viewed topics connected the societal media platform.

The People's Daily newspaper, the authoritative organ of China's ruling Communist Party, connected Monday published an nonfiction reiterating the request to drawback infections aboriginal but to debar taking a "one-size-fits-all" approach, its eighth specified portion since China announced its 20 adjusted measures connected Nov. 11.

HOPES AND WARNINGS

China's caller efforts to marque its COVID-19 curbs much targeted person sparked capitalist hopes of a much important easing adjacent arsenic China faces its archetypal wintertime battling the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

Many analysts expect specified a displacement to statesman lone successful March oregon April, however, with the authorities arguing that President Xi Jinping's signature zero-COVID argumentation saves lives and is indispensable to forestall the healthcare strategy being overwhelmed.

Experts reason afloat reopening requires a monolithic vaccination booster effort and a alteration successful messaging successful a state wherever the illness remains wide feared. Authorities accidental they program to physique much infirmary capableness and fever clinics to surface patients and are formulating a vaccination drive.

Oxford Economics said it lone expects an exit from zero-COVID successful the 2nd fractional of 2023, with vaccination rates for the aged inactive comparatively low.

"From an epidemiological and governmental perspective, we bash not deliberation the state is acceptable yet to unfastened up," it said successful a Monday report.

Reporting by Shanghai and Beijing newsrooms; Writing by Brenda Goh; Editing by Tony Munroe, Lincoln Feast and Mike Harrison

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