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A big week is coming up in China, and especially in Beijing.
The country is celebrating the Chinese New Year and the capital will host the Winter Olympics on Friday.
But right now, isolated corona cases are appearing again and again.
This is a big problem for the government.
Georg Fahrion, DER SPIEGEL:
»Of course, the capital does not want to get into trouble with the corona virus when the eyes of the whole world are on Beijing because of the Winter Olympics.«
The already tough corona policy remains strict accordingly:
Xu Heijan, spokesman for the local government in Beijing:
"We must now do everything we can, use every second, be strict and consistent on guard and take the most decisive and strict measures to stay ahead of the virus and break chains of infection as quickly as possible."
The numbers are manageable.
On Thursday, the Health Commission reported 25 local infections across the country, i.e. infections that happened in the country itself and were not discovered upon entry.
25 – with 1.4 billion inhabitants.
But China is pursuing a zero-Covid strategy, reacting to even the smallest outbreaks with strict measures.
A complete lockdown was recently imposed on megacities like Xi'an because of fewer cases.
Five local infections were reported in the capital on Thursday.
Georg Fahrion, Der SPIEGEL:
»It's already getting a bit oppressive in Beijing.
There is now a high-risk Fengtai area, which is a district in the southwest of the city, and six medium-risk areas have been flagged out.
Traveling has become difficult.
If you want to travel to Beijing from outside, you need a corona test before you leave and then after you arrive in the city.
Anyone who comes from a city that has the Corona virus itself is not allowed in here at all.«
Can this even make you want to go to the Olympic Games?
Passer in the park:
"Of course we're really looking forward to it. I've been waiting for the games to start for a long time."
DER SPIEGEL:
"What sports are you looking forward to?"
Passer-by in the park:
"I'm very interested in ice skating. That's why we're here today."
Georg Fahrion, DER SPIEGEL:
"Here in Chaoyang Park, in the east of the city, you can already feel a little anticipation for the games. But to be honest, you have to look for it in the city. The people of Beijing won't hear much about the games this time, because the Competitions will take place in a bubble and even domestic ticket sales will be suspended."
The approximately 3,000 athletes and journalists move in a so-called »closed circuit«.
There were now more than 70 corona cases.
But if no one from this bubble is allowed to have contact with the public, the virus cannot be carried into Chinese society either - that is the plan.
However, there is a lot of movement across the country these days.
This is due to the Chinese New Year.
Georg Fahrion, DER SPIEGEL:
"And that's usually the time when the Chinese travel back and forth across the country, visit their families to spend the holidays together, and there's a dark cloud over it now."
The difference in travel compared to before the pandemic is huge.
These pictures show what it looks like in front of the train station in Beijing this year.
And here's what it looked like before the New Year's pandemic
The festival is happening now.
The year of the tiger begins on Tuesday.
Preparations are underway, as in this New Year's decorations market.
Only: many of the visits that they would actually make are too risky this time.
Passer-by on the market:
»We are following the request of our country and do not want to cause any problems for our country.«
Passer-by on the market:
»Because of the Winter Olympics and the pandemic, we cannot go back to our hometown.
But that's not so bad, is it?"
Passerby in the market:
"No, not bad."
Passer-by in the market:
»Without the pandemic, we would have gone back to Xi'an.
But at the moment it's not that easy to travel to Xi'an."
DER SPIEGEL:
"It's not that easy to return to Beijing either."
Passer-by in the market:
"Yes, that's right."
China's zero-Covid strategy has been successful so far, and the government had the pandemic under control for a long time.
But the situation has changed with the much more contagious omicron variant.
So how long will the population and the political leadership hold out on the very hard course?
Georg Fahrion, DER SPIEGEL:
»The Chinese accept the measures stoically. There is great trust in the leadership, which has so far brought China through the pandemic very well with its approach. If you talk to foreign health experts here in Beijing, however, they express serious doubts as to whether it will be possible to maintain the new strategy even in the days of Omicron, simply because it spreads so quickly and often spreads unnoticed . However, the approach of the Chinese leadership should not be dismissed lightly, because the Chinese leadership has achieved a lot since the beginning of the pandemic that observers previously did not think possible.«
There are two scenarios for the further course: If things go well, the very tough local interventions will help to keep the pandemic under control as before.
Georg Fahrion, DER SPIEGEL:
"If things go badly, it can also mean that China has to choose between an economic and a health crisis.
Either an outbreak with Omicron or ongoing, recurring disruptive lockdowns.«
(Video)
