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Following the relaxation of Covid limits in the Chinese capital, Chen Chunmei joined a long queue of customers at a popular Beijing restaurant where diners tucked into large bowls of crayfish.
To combat a coronavirus outbreak, the 22-million-strong metropolis banned people from eating out, closed gyms, and blocked dozens of subway stations last month.
The restrictions, including at restaurants, are finally loosening.
“Every day, I either order takeout or cook. I had a strong desire to join you for dinner.”
Beijing’s infection rate peaked at just a few dozens per day.
Authorities in China, on the other hand, are dedicated to a zero-Covid strategy, which includes fast lockdowns, mass testing, and stringent travel restrictions to eradicate even the tiniest outbreaks.
Chen, 28, said her property was sealed down for two weeks before she was finally able to leave, but the local subway station was closed.
As the number of cases in Beijing decreased (on Tuesday, it reported only two local asymptomatic infections), officials told people that they may return to work this week and that schools would reopen on June 13th.
The Universal Beijing resort said that it will reopen on June 15, and Chinese media stated that most cinemas and gyms will be operating at 75 percent capacity beginning this week.
Restaurant dine-ins have largely resumed, while two districts remain restricted due to recent Covid cases.
‘Losing money’ is a phrase that is used to describe the act of losing money.
The economic repercussions of the government’s zero-Covid policy have piled up as a result of its persistence.
Businesses in Beijing told AFP that the previous month had taken a significant toll on their profits.
According to Zhang Shengtao, operations director at Beijing Huda Catering, “our revenue for the month of May plummeted roughly 65 percent year on year.”
He went on to say that last month, employee income at the restaurant business, which employs almost 800 people, fell by about 30%.
On Monday, limitations on eating in were lifted, which brought a sigh of relief to several.
“I’ve been looking forward to it,” said Wu Ziwen, a manager at Nanjing Dapaidang, a restaurant chain.
“There’s no doubt we were losing money,” he told AFP, adding that the restaurant relied on food delivery to stay afloat.
However, in Beijing, dine-in is still limited: because to Covid restrictions, Wu’s restaurant can only accept up to 50% of its typical capacity “even if clients pour in.”
If they wish to use public transportation or access office buildings, they must submit a negative test within three days.
Visitors like Sun Tao, 33, have been unable to return home to Shanxi due to the epidemic in the capital.
He got some relief from the dine-in relaxation.
Sun, who walked out of the hotel where he was staying with his wife on Monday evening and waited for a seat at a restaurant, said, “I’m nervous and vigilant.”
“But I also wanted to re-experience my taste receptors.”
