Beijing Mass Testing – Everyone in the world believes that COVID-19 came from China. First, it was reported back in November 2019 in Wuhan province of China, and later it’s spread to the whole world, including the United States of America and Canada.
The Chinese government is very strict when it comes to the spread of COVID-19. As we have seen in several reports that the Chinese government does not show any leniency.
Just similar incidents are also happening right now in China as the government is working on Beijing mass testing to contain the spread of the virus as much as possible. At the same time, we are also getting the news of lockdowns and forceful isolation of people who found positive of COVID-19.
The Chinese government is ruthless, and they do not want to show any weakness in the government or health sector to the world. China is the only country that is trying everything possible to surpass the economy of the United States.
The recent news of Beijing’s mass testing, lockdown, and forceful isolation of COVID-19 positive people’s health proved everything right that they are ruthless and do not show any leniency towards their citizens.
Beijing Mass Testing and Lockdown
Beijing is one of the biggest provinces of China as it is home to more than 21 million people. At the end of April 2022, Beijing saw the latest outbreak of COVID-19, and the authorities started closing all the schools in an effort to prevent the outbreak of the virus in the capital city.
We don’t know about the exact number of positive cases yet, but authorities found ten middle school students positive for COVID-19, and they spend every class in the school for a week on Friday to start the initial round of mass testing in Beijing.
As per the official numbers, China reported 24,326 new COVID cases back on the 24th of April 2022, which is not a big number as compared to 11 million total people living in the capital city of China alone.
The director of the highway Bureau of the ministry of transportation told the media that under a new system, the truck drivers are only allowed to enter the capital city if they have a negative government test no more than 48 hours old, no fever, and a green health code on their smartphone.
The restrictions in the city are getting tougher every day, and the authorities are testing every single person living in the capital city for COVID-19. The Chinese government takes every outbreak of COVID-19 very seriously, and from the very first day, they are doing everything to maintain their position in the world.
Even though we cannot rely on the numbers released by the Chinese government as they always try to hide the facts, positive cases of COVID-19 in the capital city of China are rising every day.
Beijing Lockdown
The capital city of China is seeing another lockdown in the fall of March 2022 and a rise in May 2022. The authorities have started doing mass testing as residents have lined up for throat swabs.
At the same time, Beijing police have also restricted residents, and they have a system that allows those who could live in a locked-down area.
As per the new system, even if the neighborhood does not report any positive cases of COVID-19 for a week, then the neighborhood is free to go out. As the mass testing of COVID-19 has been expanded to 11 districts out of 16 in Beijing, the news of lockdown has also confirmed that most of the people in these 11 districts are under strict lockdown.
The authorities in the capital city of China do not want to make another Shanghai as the government has a reputation in the world for managing COVID-19 cases by reporting fewer numbers since the first day.
The authorities saw backlash when a huge number of residents complained about having a food crisis and medicine shortage. We saw reports from every media house in the world regarding the full crisis and criticism of Beijing authorities. Later the authorities make sure that they will lose antivirus regulations on truck drivers and increase the food storage in the city.
The Crisis in Shanghai
When it comes to COVID restrictions, Beijing is nothing compared to Shanghai. The city of 26 million people saw a huge lockdown and mass testing when a few cases of COVID-19 were reported back in April 2022.
On the 10th of April 2022, the state department ordered the departure of every known emergency counselor staff and their families from Shanghai.
Back in April 2022, one of the biggest Chinese cities, Shanghai, was reporting around 20,000 new COVID cases each day as their zero COVID strategy has failed to hold back despite long lockdowns.
Shanghai has been saying lockdowns from mid-March 2022, and still, they have not seen much else at the moment. Most of the residents are forbidden from living there, but the government has started a tiered system to lift COVID restrictions.
There is no doubt the authorities are doing everything in their hand to restrict and contain the spread of novel coronavirus as they are also refusing non-COVID-related needs.
A woman from Shanghai died from asthma after she was denied entry into the emergency room. In a similar incident, a 77-year-old man with kidney disease was also denied dialysis treatment, according to Human Rights Watch.
Forced Isolation and Punishment
Under the zero-COVID policy of China, the 25 million residents of Shanghai are under strict lockdown and forced isolation.
From the very first day, the authorities have been announcing in the streets that everyone should stay in the lockdown state. Those who have found positive for COVID-19 have been forced into isolation facilities, while others have to rely on overburdened delivery services for food and other necessary items.
The authorities did not show any sign of weakness or backing out from the strict measures. They also announced that not following any restrictions or rules might result in punishment.
The city department of Shanghai stated in a statement that those who violated the provisions of this notice would be dealt with in strict accordance. Everyone who violates the provisions will be investigated according to law and punished.
In May 2022, the authorities started easing the strict regulations of COVID as they allowed more than 5 million people to go outside their residences. Till now, more than 15 people are permitted to go outside, according to the health officials.
They further mentioned that the virus had been under effective control for the first time in the last few weeks in some parts of the city. At the same time, some people are not allowed to leave their neighborhood, and large gatherings are prohibited throughout the city.
The lockdown in Shanghai has also influenced the International Monetary Fund to reduce its forecast of Chinese growth to 4.4% from 4.8% this year. The officials believe that the shutdowns of Shanghai and other industrial centers are surely going to impact the overall Chinese growth this year.
Covid Facts and Data of China
Before we wrap this session, let’s take a quick look at facts and data about China-related to COVID-19. We all know that the Chinese Government does not like to release the official data of confirmed positive cases as it can impact their image in the world.
The Chinese have one of the biggest populations in the world as they have more than 1.4 billion people living in the country. But, even after 2 ½ years, it has just reported around 2.2 million confirmed cases over 19 since it started.
As per the data points released by Johns Hopkins University, China recently created a peak of 57,000 daily confirmed cases on the 4th of March 2022. As compared to any other country, the Chinese are in the best situation.
For example, another Asian country, India, also has more than 1.3 billion people, but Do you have a total of 43 million reported cases of COVID-19 and more than 500,000 deaths till now?
If we compare the data points released by Chinese authorities with any other country in Europe, You will find a huge difference in confirmed positive cases of COVID-19.
It is very hard to handle a population of 1.3 billion people as compared to a few million living in European countries with better infrastructure and healthcare systems.
It is clear that Chinese authorities are underreporting the positive cases of confirmed COVID-19 cases in their country. Under any circumstances, they want to save their image in the world.
I have a Chinese visa. Can I travel there now?
Yes, you can visit China, but they have restricted the movement of people from several countries, including the United States, in a few provinces where the spread of novel coronavirus is at its peak. We will suggest that you confirm with the U.S. embassy in China whether it’s safe to visit China or not.