China: Beijing starts new round of COVID-19 testing; Shanghai postpones crucial exams

As China is currently battling its worst COVID-19 situation since the 2020 outbreak, Beijing has commenced a new round of coronavirus mass testing on Saturday. Additionally, Shanghai's Gaokao University admission exam has also been postponed until early July. This announcement came after Beijing had shut down bus lines and metro stations in an effort to avoid the fate of Shanghai, where millions of people have been stranded in their homes for more than a month, Taipei Times reported.  

As per service providers, Beijing, the nation's capital, has declared the closure of around 40 metro stations, or almost a tenth of the network, as well as 158 bus routes. Furthermore, Beijing has also shuttered theme parks and limited dining in restaurants to fight against the COVID-19 infection, as per media reports.  

According to the Taipei Times report, Beijing began the first of three fresh rounds of daily testing in Chaoyang, its biggest district, which is home to embassies and huge workplaces, and advised residents in other locations where COVID infections had been identified to undergo tests over the weekend. Furthermore, on Friday, the city recorded 45 new symptomatic COVID-19 infections, down from 55 the day before. It documented eight asymptomatic instances vs 17 the day before, which China tracks separately. 

Shanghai Gaokao University admission test postponed due to COVID 

In addition to this, Shanghai has announced that the city's Gaokao University admission test will be held in early July. According to the Taipei Times report, the last exam was held in June of last year, and in 2020 it was postponed during the initial outbreak. 

To combat infection, the stringent mobility restrictions in Shanghai, an economic and financial centre, have enraged the city's 25 million citizens and sparked unusual protests over concerns such as food and medical treatment, as well as revenue loss. Shanghai officials are progressively lifting the lockdown restrictions that have kept the majority of the city's 25 million people confined to their homes, housing compounds, or surrounding neighbourhoods for more than a month. Currently, some inhabitants have been allowed to leave their houses, however, locals claim they are still unable to do so, according to the Taipei Times report. 

The number of COVID cases outside of the lockdown regions in Shanghai decreased to 18 on Friday, down from 23 the day before. According to figures provided yesterday (May 7), the total number of new cases has decreased somewhat to around 4,000. Shanghai is also establishing thousands of permanent polymerase chain reaction testing centres, in accordance with other cities, as China strives to make routine COVID tests a part of everyday life, Taipei Times reported.  

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