The Beijing government announced this Wednesday 7th that the presentation of proof of vaccination against Covid19 will be mandatory to access public places. The capital is the first city in China to impose the measure aimed at curbing the spread of the Omicron variant.
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The rule follows the previous requirement of presenting a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours to enter all public places in Beijing.
According to city health officials, the rule will come into effect on July 11. People must show they are vaccinated to enter a wide range of venues, including cinemas, libraries, museums, gyms, stadiums and training centers.
The measure also orders venues with limited public capacity to be required to prioritize the entry of vaccinated customers.
In the statement, the government did not specify what the procedure will be for people who have been vaccinated abroad. China’s health systems which serve to verify vaccinations do not currently recognize foreign vaccines.
The city also required people working in epidemic prevention and control, healthcare, public transport, delivery services and other higherrisk sectors to be fully vaccinated.
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The new rule is in line with the Chinese authorities’ strategy to intensify efforts to increase vaccination rates, particularly among the elderly population, which has low vaccination rates. According to official figures, 98% of Beijing’s more than 20 million people are fully vaccinated, including 12 million people who have received a booster shot.
However, according to the state news agency Xinhua, the vaccination rate among Beijingers over 60 falls to 80%.
Authorities have recommended that seniors visiting crowded places like recreation centers and arcades should be vaccinated as soon as possible.
Some of the population expressed dissatisfaction with the measure and pointed out on social media that the regulation contradicted the original promise by the health authorities that vaccination was not compulsory.
Last September, the National Health Commission censured local governments for restricting the movement of unvaccinated people, saying those guidelines should be changed in a timely manner. “Vaccination against Covid19 should be based on the principles of informed consent and be voluntary,” Wu Liangyou, deputy head of the commission, said at a news conference.
The requirement for proof of vaccination comes after Beijing reported three cases of infection with the Omicron variant, which is highly transmissible and can bypass antibodies. An outbreak of the new subvariant has already paralyzed the northwest city of Xi’an, where entertainment, sports and religious establishments have been closed and restaurants restricted to delivery services until next Wednesday.
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China is continuing its zeroCovid policy, which has led to lockdowns in several cities across the country, including Beijing and Shanghai. The strategy, which includes mass testing, isolation of those infected in quarantine centers and immediate lockdowns to prevent a resurgence of the virus, has had an impact on the national economy.
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