Mass exodus begins from Beijing after govt eases travel restrictions

People in Beijing rushed to buy train and plane tickets out of the Chinese capital after the local government began easing travel restrictions for the first time since an outbreak that was discovered in mid-June.

Residents from areas of Beijing designated “low risk” will be allowed to leave the city without having to be tested negative for the coronavirus from July 4, Pan Xuhong, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Public Security said on Friday. Strict controls will remain on people from dozens of medium and high risk areas.

Within 30 minutes of the announcement, searches for outbound flights increased five times compared with the same period the day before, and there was a nearly 350 per cent rise in searches for hotel stays in the next two weeks, Beijing Daily reported, citing data from Tongcheng Travel.