Places Are Reopening! Here's What You Need to Know

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Good news! All the efforts in the recent Covid restrictions are finally beginning to pay off! During the press conference on May 28 the city announced that starting today (May 29) many of Beijing’s residents will start to feel a sense of normalcy once again.

First and foremost, most of the Didi, taxi and public transportation limitations in Shunyi, Fangshan, and parts of southern Chaoyang and Changping have been lifted. Fifty subway stations however remain closed — refer to this map for details:

Additionally, starting today (May 29) all parks and outdoor tourist destinations can resume operations at 50% capacity.

However, tourist destinations have been advised to adhere to the “limited, served, and staggered admittance” to reduce the number of visitors at one given time and ask visitors to book online in advance. It’s highly recommended to call ahead to find out what regulations the venue you’re hoping is following.

Those in Fangshan and Shunyi districts can go back to work (100%) while Chaoyang and Tongzhou districts can begin to allow people to go back to work, but not all at once. The specific plan for these latter two districts was not mentioned during the press conference.

As of yesterday, there’s still no news as to when restaurants can resume indoor dining or when schools will be allowed to resume.

The city also announced an opening plan for much of the city’s other facilities: Any district that has gone seven days without a community transmission (“in the wild” case) can reopen its movie theatres, libraries, art galleries, cultural and sports centers, museums, theaters, and gyms at 50% capacity. (The exception to this rule is any venue located in basements which are still required to remain closed for the time being).

Hotels, B&Bs, and homestays in Mentougou, Pinggu, Huairou, Miyun, Yanqing will be allowed to resume operations starting today (May 29).

As recommended in the Safe & Sane groups, people should expect openings to be subject to interpretation, often these sorts of things can take a while to percolate through the city. It’s also worth noting that the rules to change at any time. We highly recommend you call ahead before visiting any venues.

The next question on everybody’s mind is:

do I need to get tested?

It’s a little bit of a difficult question to answer, but these are our suggested guidelines：

Testing checklist:

1. Is there a general order for the city to get a test?

2. Is there a general order for the district you are in to get a test?

3. Does your community require testing?

4. Does your employer require testing?

5. Does your child’s school require testing?

6. Does your occupation require testing?

If the answer to any of the above is “yes”, follow their lead and get tested as they request.

If the answer to all of the above is “no”, then you do not need to get tested UNLESS you need access to a gated venue.

If you need access to a gated venue, you will need a test no older than 48 hours. You may test at any time, as long as you can find an open testing center.

If you are still not sure, just go get tested every day or every other day until someone tells you otherwise.

To keep yourself informed and sane through the latest Covid panic, make sure you’re getting your information from reliable sources. True Run Media’s founder, Mike Wester, started the first Safe & Sane WeChat group back in 2020, and since then the Safe & Sane network has been helping the Beijing English-speaking community do just that – stay safe and sane.

There’s reliable updated information on the latest Covid regulations in Beijing, and you’ll be able to ask Covid-related questions of other members of the group.

Scan the QR code below to join a Safe & Sane group.

If this group gets full, just add TBJButler on WeChat and request to be added to one of the Safe & Sane groups.

Images: Michael Wester, Pexels

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