In China, authorities have ordered new lockdowns affecting millions of people after the number of daily COVID-19 cases topped 10,000 for the first time since April. About 5 million residents of Guangzhou’s downtown district have been confined to their homes through Sunday. Meanwhile, officials tightened COVID restrictions across Beijing after reporting a record 118 new locally transmitted cases. Many residents say they’ve been unable to leave Beijing since the start of the pandemic.

Ling Zhu: “Even on October 1st of this year for the National Day holiday, I couldn’t go anywhere. And many of my colleagues have not been back home for a few years, either. I’m thinking about going back home. But with the recent outbreaks, people can’t leave, nor can they return to Beijing.”