Page 11 - Beijing

China's economic activity rebounds in cities where Covid-19 peaked

While mobility still remains well below pre-pandemic levels, the quick rebound in activity in cities like Beijing - where the outbreak was most severe - suggests the economy could recover faster

Countries restrict entry of Chinese travellers as Beijing lifts Covid curbs

Uncertainty over the true scale of infections without reliable official figures is fueling concern that the rapid spread of the virus could lead to the emergence of new variants

'Living with Covid': UK to stop publishing data, China back to work

The data is considered "no longer necessary" as the country moves to a phase of living with the virus with the help of vaccines and medicines

Beijing to distribute Pfizer antiviral drug amid unprecedented Covid wave

Beijing will begin distributing Pfizers Covid 19 drug Paxlovid to the citys community health centres in the coming days, state media reported on Monday

Facing questions over accuracy, China stops releasing Covid-19 cases data

The commission didn't provide a reason for the change in policy, but said that the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention will release Covid-related info for studies and reference

China's Covid-19 surge is infecting 37 million people a day: Report

Some 37 million people in China may have been infected with C-19 on a single day this week, as Beijing discontinued restrictions that had contained the virus since the start of the pandemic

Packed ICUs, crowded crematoriums: Coronavirus roils Chinese towns

Yao Ruyan paced frantically outside the fever clinic of a county hospital in China's industrial Hebei province, 70 kilometres (43 miles) southwest of Beijing. Her mother-in-law had COVID-19 and needed urgent medical care, but all hospitals nearby were full. They say there's no beds here, she barked into her phone. As China grapples with its first-ever national COVID-19 wave, emergency wards in small cities and towns southwest of Beijing are overwhelmed. Intensive care units are turning away ambulances, relatives of sick people are searching for open beds, and patients are slumped on benches in hospital corridors and lying on floors for a lack of beds. Yao's elderly mother-in-law had fallen ill a week ago. They went first to a local hospital, where lung scans showed signs of pneumonia. But the hospital couldn't handle COVID-19 cases, Yao was told. She was told to go to hospitals in adjacent counties. As Yao and her husband drove from hospital to hospital, they found all the wards

Multiple factors behind rise of severe Covid cases in Beijing: Experts

Health experts noted that multiple reasons have led to a rise of severe Covid cases in Beijing, as north China generally sees a greater occurrence of respiratory infectious diseases in winter times.

Infection rate could be over 50% in Beijing, situation critical: Report

China ceased its strict zero-Covid policy in November and since then, the country has seen a spike and the spread has been faster than anticipated

Beijing building up unoccupied land features in South China Sea, says West

While China has previously built out disputed reefs, islands in the area, the West presented images of what they called the first known instances of a nation doing so on the territory

China's Covid-19 outbreak has US worried about new mutations of virus

The US is sending a delegation led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing early in the new year

US doesn't want any conflict with China, says White House official Kirby

Despite acknowledging the security challenges posed by China, White House official John Kirby has stated that Washington doesn't want to see a conflict with Beijing

Beijing witnesses rise in Covid-linked deaths after restrictions eased

Outside a funeral home in eastern Beijing, dozens of people were bundled up in parkas and hats against the freezing temperatures Friday evening as workers in full protective suits wheeled out coffins one by one. When an employee with a clipboard shouted the name of the dead, a relative trundled up to the coffin to examine the body. One of the relatives told The Associated Press their loved one had been infected with COVID-19. Deaths linked to the coronavirus are appearing in Beijing after weeks of China reporting no fatalities, even as the country is seeing a surge of cases. That surge comes as the government last week dramatically eased some of the world's strictest COVID-19 containment measures. On Wednesday, the government said it would stop reporting asymptomatic COVID-19 cases since they've become impossible to track with mass testing no longer required. That halt in reporting made it unclear how fast the virus is spreading. Social media posts, business closures and other ...

Chinese envoy blames 'foreign forces' for protests against Covid Zero

China started dismantling its zero-tolerance approach to eliminating Covid-19 last week. It no longer sends infected people to quarantine camps, and eased travel requirements

Beijing's Covid gloom deepens as China relaxes curbs after protests

Anecdotal evidence suggests that many businesses have been forced to close as infected workers quarantine at home while many other people are deciding not to go out

China strengthens hospitals, expands ICU facilities as Covid cases surge

Facing a surge in COVID-19 cases, China is setting up more intensive care facilities and trying to strengthen hospitals as Beijing rolls back anti-virus controls that confined millions of people to their homes, crushed economic growth and set off protests. President Xi Jinping's government is officially committed to stopping virus transmission, the last major country to try. But the latest moves suggest the ruling Communist Party will tolerate more cases without quarantines or shutting down travel or businesses as it winds down its zero-COVID strategy. A Cabinet meeting called Thursday for full mobilisation of hospitals including adding staff to ensure their combat effectiveness and increasing drug supplies, according to state media. Officials were told to keep track of the health of everyone in their area aged 65 and older. It isn't clear how much infection numbers have increased since Beijing last week ended mandatory testing as often as once a day in many areas. But interviews an

Beijing running out of fever medicine as Covid-19 pandemic spreads

Amid reports of panic buying of fever medicine, a financial news outlet, citing third-party data, said the average daily sales volume of home test kits had risen more than 400 times versus November

Majority of China's population may contract Covid, warns health adviser

About 80 to 90% of the Chinese population may eventually be infected with the virus

Amnesty International Canada says it was target of a China-sponsored hack

The Canadian branch of Amnesty International said Monday it was the target of a cyber attack sponsored by China. The human rights organization said it first detected the breach on October 5, and hired forensic investigators and cybersecurity experts to investigate. Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, said the searches in their systems were specifically and solely related to China and Hong Kong, as well as a few prominent Chinese activists. The hack left the organization offline for nearly three weeks. US cybersecurity firm Secureworks said a threat group sponsored or tasked by the Chinese state was likely behind the attack because there was no attempt to monetize the access, the nature of the searches, the level of sophistication and the use of specific tools which are distinctive of China-sponsored actors. Nivyabandi encouraged activists and journalists to update their cybersecurity protocols in light of it. "As an organization advocating for huma

Beijing city relaxes Covid-19 test norms following widespread protests

For the first time in about two years, China's capital city Beijing relaxed its norms for coronavirus test requirements on Tuesday after unprecedented public protests against President Xi Jinping's stringent zero-Covid policy rocked the country. As per the new announcement, negative nucleic acid test results are no longer required to enter shopping malls, supermarkets, commercial buildings and residential compounds. However, Beijing residents will still require a negative Covid-19 test taken within 48 hours to enter restaurants, schools, bars, internet cafes, indoor gaming stadiums, nursing homes, welfare facilities, hospitals and medical institutions. The announcement was made ahead of the memorial meeting held here by the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) for former President of the country Jiang Zemin who passed away on November 30. Beijing continues to report a high number of Covid-19 cases. On Monday, the city reported 2,260 Covid infections. The Chinese mainland on Monda