News Asia
Beijing Mandates COVID Vaccine Requirements As Cases Grow Nationwide
BEIJING — The Chinese capital will require Covid vaccinations for entering gyms and some other venues, the first such mandate in the country.
Recently, Beijing, Shanghai, and other parts of China have seen an increase in new cases.
As of Monday, most in-person training centers, sports centers, entertainment venues, and other social gathering spots will require vaccinations.
The city said vaccinations would not apply to people who were not “suitable” for vaccinations, but vaccinated people would be given priority entry. Due to Covid restrictions, many spaces are underutilized.
In China, only Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccines are available to the public.
The vaccination rate in Beijing is relatively high. In the city, 23.4 million people were vaccinated, including 3.6 million over the age of 60. As of 2020, the capital city had nearly 22 million long-term residents.
Many industries, including taxi services, have encouraged or mandated vaccinations against Covid at government events in Beijing.
Two months ago, Beijing began requiring people to take virus tests before visiting public spaces.
In Shanghai and other parts of China, similar regulations have taken effect, while at least a few cities have attempted to stop regular virus testing. For local governments, Covid tests and other measures are costly.
For Wednesday, Mainland China reported 94 new Covid cases with symptoms, including 32 in Shanghai and 4 in Beijing.
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