Beijing is tightening its hard-line zero-COVID rules, mandating that kids show a negative test result to enter parks in China’s capital.
Children older than three will need to show a green health code on the system that controls people’s movements, as well as a negative COVID-19 result no older than 72 hours, according to a statement from the Beijing Municipal Administration Center of Parks.
Previously, kids were able to go to parks and other public places without getting their test results checked provided their parents met requirements for entry.
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China is relying on frequent testing to identify, then quash, transmission chains early even as its zero-tolerance approach comes under increasing strain from more transmissible variants and isolates it from the rest of the world.
While Beijing has contained its recent flare up without a widespread lockdown, authorities in the city are under immense pressure to control the situation ahead of the party congress in the second half, when President Xi Jinping is expected to secure an unprecedented third term as leader.
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