The Chinese capital, Beijing, appears to have backed off a plan to launch a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for entry into certain public spaces after pushback from residents.
While not explicitly saying it had dropped the plan, a city official was quoted in state media late on Thursday saying that people could enter venues with a negative virus test result and a temperature check, as has been the norm.
They also said that vaccinations would continue on the principle of “informed, voluntary consent.”
Photo: AP
Residents could enter any sort of public venue with a negative polymerase chain reaction test done in the past 72 hours and a temperature check, a government official said in a short question-and-answer post from Beijing Daily, the main paper of the city government, published late on Thursday night.
The city announced on Wednesday that starting next week, people must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination before they can enter some public spaces including gyms, museums and libraries. It drew intense discussion as city residents worried how the sudden policy announcement would disrupt their lives.
A telephone call to the Beijing Municipal Press Office to confirm the policy change did not go through. The phone had been set to “do not disturb” mode, according to a recorded message.
Online and offline, some criticized the policy, worrying that it would force those who were not vaccinated to get the shots, or lose out on access to many public spaces. The announcement was trending on Thursday on China’s Sina Weibo microblogging site.
The government is concerned about the remaining numbers of unvaccinated people, especially those older than 60 who are vulnerable. In April, the Beijing government announced that more than 80 percent of people older than 60 had received a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, about 3.4 million people.
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