Source::AP news
With the bulk of Beijing’s 21 million people undergoing near-daily testing, another 118 new cases were recorded in the sprawling city. Many city schools switched to online classes, hospitals restricted services, and some shops and restaurants were shuttered with their staff taken to quarantine.
Incoming passengers will only be quarantined for five days rather than the previous seven at a designated location, followed by three days of isolation at their place of residence, according to a notice from the State Council, China’s Cabinet.
Airlines will no longer be threatened with a two-week suspension of flights if five or more passengers test positive, the regulations said, potentially providing a major expansion of seats on such flights that have shrunk in numbers and soared in price since restrictions were imposed in 2020.
Business group's policies discourage foreign executives from visiting, which has prompted companies to shift investment plans to other countries. Visits from U.S. officials and lawmakers charged with maintaining the crucial trading relations amid tensions over tariffs, Taiwan, and human rights have come to a virtual standstill.
Last week, access to part of the central city of Zhengzhou, home to the world’s biggest iPhone factory, was suspended after residents tested positive for the virus. Thousands of workers jumped fences and hiked along highways to escape the factory run by Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group. Apple Inc. later warned customers would have to wait longer for deliveries of its new iPhone 14 model.
“It has become normal, just like eating and sleeping. I think what it impacts most is kids because they need to go to school. Demands for testing every 24 to 48 hours are “troublesome”. My life is for sure not comparable to what it was three years ago,” said food service worker Yang Zheng._AP news
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