China’s state-owned banks and regulators are moving to divide staff at their workplaces in Beijing, sources told Reuters, as companies brace for a possible rise in cases of COVID-19 after China relaxed restrictions on the virus in a major policy change.
These measures show that the persistent concern generated by the “zero contagion” policy against the coronavirus applied by Beijing for three years may make it difficult to quickly restore the health of the second largest economy in the world, despite having abandoned the strict Containment measures.
China’s top securities regulator this week adopted a closed-loop system, a bubble-like provision commonly imposed as part of coronavirus prevention measures in China, where employees sleep, live and work in isolation from the rest of the world. world, said two sources with knowledge of the matter.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission plans to allow only a couple of employees from each department to come to the headquarters and has asked some of them to prepare for a long stay at the facility, the sources said.
The rest of the staff will have to work from home, they added.
Manufacturers and restaurants keen to stay open in China are also erring on the side of caution and maintaining COVID-19 restrictions until they have a clearer picture of how loosening the strict measures will affect workplaces.
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission has also issued instructions this week to its Beijing-based staff and plans to apply a split-time regime starting next week, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
The National Development and Reform Commission has informed its staff that it will divide them into two groups, each of which will return to the workplace every other week, another person with direct knowledge of the matter said.
None of the three commissions immediately responded to Reuters’ request for comment.
Chinese government agencies and banks in Beijing have been working with normal staff in their offices this year as the city has adhered to a strict “zero contagion” protocol, which generally does not allow staff go out of town for non-essential reasons.
Among China’s four big state-owned banks, Bank of China has told staff it will divide its Beijing staff into three groups, who will work in the office every other week, a person with direct knowledge said.
However, the bank has not yet decided when it will start these rotations, the person added.
Bank of China declined to comment.
Other big state-owned banks have also taken similar steps: dividing staff into rotating shifts while maintaining a maximum of 10-20% staff occupancy at their Beijing headquarters, two other people with knowledge of the matter said.
“Fear among staff of contracting COVID-19 seems to be incredibly high in Beijing right now as the virus is expected to spread through the city very quickly,” said Tom Simpson, Managing Director and Senior Council Representative. China-UK Business.
“There is a new fear among people of contracting COVID and that is discouraging people from going to the office, and in general companies are not forcing people to go there either,” he added.
According to a representative of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, its members are planning scenarios in which they can continue their general operations despite the increase in cases.
“It is not an easy task at the moment, as there are still significant discrepancies between the pandemic-related guidelines of different cities and regions. (…) Since we are already three years into the pandemic, most companies have taken steps to make it easier for their staff to work remotely,” the representative said.