As the coronavirus outbreak in China intensified, with deaths rising and 36 million people under lockdown near the epicenter, it was business as usual more than 700 miles away in the capital, Beijing
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Chinese travelers, most wearing masks, arrive to board trains before the annual Spring Festival at a Beijing railway station.On Friday, New Year’s Eve, many restaurants were closed, with handwritten signs indicating when their owners would return. Subway trains, normally crowded even in off-peak hours, had plenty of seats. Locals stocked up on food for the holiday weekend, when even supermarkets would be closed.
Travelers wear masks at the Beijing railway station. The coronavirus outbreak has so far claimed 26 lives and infected more than 800 others, according to media reports.A woman who just arrived on the last bullet train from Wuhan to Beijing is checked for a fever by a health worker at the railway station.
For them, the new year holiday, normally a time to gather with extended family for days of feasting, has been ruined. “It’s better to wear a mask, but not wearing one is fine too,” said Li Jiangyun, 45. “I don’t think it’ll get here. The country will take care of it.” At the Forbidden City, tourists swarmed the walkways along the palace’s high walls and frozen moat, even though the gates were closed to visitors.
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