This archive report was first published on 18 June 2020.
Beijing's service industry is once again facing a tough time as a fresh cluster of COVID-19 cases has emerged in the city, forcing businesses to close or reintroduce restrictions.
According to reports, city authorities have locked down entire residential areas, imposed a partial travel ban, and advised companies to let employees work from home after a cluster of cases emerged last week at a wholesale food market.
Many businesses in the service industry have struggled through months of closures during the epidemic and are now facing another setback.
Some workers have been hit especially hard, with personal trainer Zhang Tong at Sculpture Fitness gym going largely without income for almost six months.
"Even after we resumed business, I went back for only a couple of days. There aren't many people," he said. "Without classes you don't receive any salary... The impact is very big."
— Zhang Tong, personal trainer at Sculpture Fitness gym Restrictions are spreading beyond the worst-hit districts, with bars in Beijing's popular Sanlitun area receiving a notice on Tuesday night telling them to "halt operations... with reopening to be determined based on the epidemic situation". As physical shops tighten controls and customers stay away, more people have gone online, with web orders at 7Fresh supermarket rising by more than 20 percent since last week. Delivery platform Meituan said grocery orders it handles for supermarkets in Beijing had more than tripled since last Saturday compared with a week earlier. However, sellers noted the rush to online shopping was less drastic this time than during the initial outbreak.
