Shenzhen residents have been placed into seven days of “slow living” (from yesterday to Sunday) as per the city’s latest lockdown measures aimed at controlling its recent COVID-19 wave. In order to help residents to live through this time and arrange their lives in an orderly manner, the city’s COVID-19 prevention and control headquarters responded to people’s concerns from various perspectives, namely COVID tests, transportation, daily necessities, closed-off management in housing compounds and industry policies.
Nucleic acid tests
Q: What’s the schedule for three rounds of nucleic acid tests from yesterday to Sunday?
A: Residents across the city are required to complete three COVID tests in total this week, which means taking the test every other day.
Q: Residents in Futian, Luohu, Nanshan and Bao’an districts were already urged to take nucleic acid tests on a daily basis. Any updates on the policy?
A: Residents in Futian, Luohu, Nanshan and Bao’an districts should continue doing the tests on a daily basis while residents in other districts should complete three tests from yesterday to Sunday.
Q: How should residents do the three rounds of tests? Is the testing capacity sufficient?
A: Residents are required to complete at least three rounds of COVID tests at different time slots arranged by their subdistricts and communities. The Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission and each district have arranged enough workers and resources to ensure the mass COVID testing goes smoothly.
Transportation
Q: Are taxis, ride-hailing services and private car travel restricted?
A: Taxis and ride-hailing services are still operating in the city. Citizens can take them at the city’s airport, railway stations, high-speed railway stations and other places across the city. At the same time, private car travels are not restricted. Given the suspension of bus and Metro operations, citizens who need to travel due to emergencies can turn to taxis or online ride-hailing services. A negative nucleic acid test result issued within 24 hours or a proof of having taken a COVID test within 24 hours is required when taking taxis or ride-hailing cars. Citizens can also call 95128 for taxi services.
Q: Is transportation in and out of the city affected? Are there any changes in the arrangement of flights and high-speed trains?
A: Transportation in and out of the city has not been halted. Residents can leave the city with a negative 24-hour nucleic acid test result if the travel is necessary. Given one area in Futian District has been classified as high-risk for COVID-19, residents might be put under a 14-day quarantine at certain destinations. Flights to Shenzhen from medium- and high-risk areas for COVID-19 have been reduced. Residents can check on airlines’ official websites, the 12306 app or call the hotline 12306 for more flight and train information. Shuttle buses at the airport and railway stations are available to serve residents’ travel needs. Passengers are only allowed to get off the shuttle buses on its routes.
Issues of public concerns
Q: Can hotels and B&Bs accommodate guests as normal during the lockdown period? What requirements must guests fulfill?
A: Hotels and B&B’s will remain open, but guests must present a negative COVID testing result issued within 24 hours or proof of having taken a nucleic acid test within 24 hours with a negative result issued the day before to check in the lodging.
People from medium- and high-risk regions, as well as red and yellow health codes holders, are subject to relevant epidemic prevention measures.
Q: How can I seek medical care and purchase medicine during the lockdown period?
A: Residents can drive their vehicles or take taxis or app-based cabs to hospitals or pharmacies. The general public is reminded to take protection measures during the trip.
Q: How to guarantee the services for people with special needs?
A: Individuals with special needs can dial the district’s service hotlines for help. The Futian District’s number is 28813300; Luohu District 82201625; Yantian District 25365365; Nanshan District 26662526; Bao’an District 29996999; Longgang District 28905868; Longhua District 23336666; Pingshan District 28344742; Guangming District 88211335; Dapeng New Area 28333959; Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone 22100494.
Residents can also call their subdistrict offices for community service.
Q: How do I report any special problems during lockdown? How long are the hotlines open?
A: All of the above-mentioned service hotlines and the city government’s hotline 12345 are available for citizens 24 hours a day.
Q: How to deal with employers requiring staff to work at the office?
A: Except public service enterprises providing the city’s essential services related to water, electricity, fuel, gas, communications, sanitation, food supply, as well as companies guaranteeing supplies to Hong Kong, employees in Shenzhen should work from home and suspend production and business. Employees of essential services providers can apply for a pass from the subdistricts they live in.
Meanwhile, business venues and stores — except supermarkets selling groceries, wet markets, pharmacies, medical institutions, and catering businesses providing delivery services — should be closed.
If you encounter such a problem, you can make a complaint to the Shenzhen Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau by calling 0755-12333.
Essential movements
Q: Can I enter and exit my housing compound or urban villages under lockdown?
A: Lockdown management doesn’t necessarily mean no residents are allowed to enter or leave their housing compounds. The measure aims to reduce people’s nonessential movements.
With a work card or a certificate issued by their employers, staffers from government departments, State-owned enterprises and other public entities at all levels, who are undertaking the epidemic prevention tasks, employees working in enterprises that involve in essential services in Shenzhen and providing supplies to Hong Kong can enter and exit the compounds. Other residents should work from home.
Residents in need of purchasing daily necessities, seeing a doctor, buying their medications, taking COVID tests and other urgent needs can enter and exit the compounds. However, each household can have one person go out for purchasing daily necessities every two or three days and the subdistrict or community will issue them a pass.
Housing compounds should refuse visitors. Visitors who need to enter the compound under essential circumstances must register their names, have their temperatures taken, and present their health codes.
Industry policies
Q: How do financial institutions implement the epidemic prevention and control policies such as suspending operations or working from home?
A: Financial institutions are important departments to ensure the city’s basic operation in economy and society. They also need to ensure the normal operation of key posts in their core departments.
First, a few of the offices of banks, insurance companies and other institutions can have minimum staff on duty to ensure any emergency financial needs of citizens and enterprises.
Second, securities, funds, futures and other financial institutions should assign core staff members in key positions to enter their office buildings according to the minimum standard to ensure the system’s uninterrupted operation and stable operation of trading businesses.
Then, Shenzhen Stock Exchange, settlement centers and other important financial infrastructure institutions should, according to the minimum standard, assign core staff members in key positions to enter their office buildings to ensure the normal operation of financial infrastructures and ensure the smooth operation of the city’s financial system and financial market.
Moreover, staff members of financial institutions should work from home in principle if conditions permit. They can guide their customers to handle businesses on the internet and mobile apps.
Q: How to define public service enterprises and enterprises providing supplies for Hong Kong?
A: Public service enterprises refer to those in water, electricity, fuel oil, gas, communications, sanitation, grain, oil, meat and vegetable supplies and other industries that ensure citizens’ daily life and the basic operation of the city. Shenzhen enterprises that guarantee supplies for Hong Kong mainly involve the supply of fresh products for the special administrative region, and are divided into two categories. The first is the supply of pigs. The second category is the supply of other fresh products.
Q: Can enterprises in lockdown industrial parks operate normally?
A: If their employees work and live in a bubble, enterprises in a locked-down industrial park can operate on the premise of taking strict epidemic prevention measures.