BEIJING (AP) \u2014 Shoppers returned to the malls of Beijing on Sunday as the Chinese capital relaxed pandemic restrictions after declaring a small but persistent COVID-19 outbreak effectively under control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A partial reopening of stores and offices in Beijing was welcomed by a weary populace and struggling shopkeepers eager for life to return to normal. Coupled with a gradual easing of restrictions in Shanghai, it signaled that the worst is over in the twin outbreaks in China\u2019s most prominent cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lockdowns and other restrictions under China\u2019s \u201czero-COVID\u201d strategy have increasingly frustrated residents as they see other countries ease up and re-open their borders.\u00a0Some have resisted and staged protests\u00a0at apartment complexes and university dormitories, in an authoritarian country where people think twice about speaking out publicly because of possible repercussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Restaurants remain closed in Beijing, except for takeout and delivery, and many people in Shanghai still can only go out with special passes and for a limited time period, even as the number of new cases has plummeted. Officials tend to err on the side of caution under a system that readily punishes them for lax enforcement if outbreaks flare up or come back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China recorded 293 new cases on Saturday, of which 78 were among people who had arrived from overseas. Shanghai had the most non-imported cases, with 122, and Beijing had 21. That\u2019s in a population of more than 20 million people in both cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beijing allowed public parks, gyms and cinemas to reopen on Sunday, all at 50% of their capacity. A portion of the Great Wall in a rural part of Beijing, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) from downtown, reopens to visitors on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Xu Hejian, a city spokesperson, said Saturday that sporadic cases are still being found in some districts, but they are within a controllable range. \u201cThis round of outbreak has been put under effective control,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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