Beijing on Tuesday extended its screening campaign to most of its 22 million inhabitants. They still fear the imposition of a harsh lockdown like in Shanghai, amid rising numbers of coronavirus infections.
China has been facing an epidemic outbreak since March that affects many provinces to varying degrees. It responds to this with a zero Covid strategy, which consists in particular of confinements and quarantines.
In Shanghai, the 25 million inhabitants have been confined since the beginning of April. Many complain of difficulties in accessing food and the sending of positive people to quarantine centers with variable hygiene.
Fifty-two new deaths from Covid-19 and nearly 17,000 positive cases over 24 hours were announced there on Tuesday by the Ministry of Health. In Beijing, where a hundred positive cases have been identified since last week, health authorities have called on residents of 12 out of 16 districts to carry out three PCR tests this week.
On Monday, residents and employees of Chaoyang District, the city’s most populous district, home to many multinationals, offices, embassies and shopping malls, were the first to begin this general screening campaign. Eleven new districts began testing their residents on Tuesday.
Supermarkets taken over
Scalded by the example of Shanghai, Beijingers are storming supermarkets and online platforms selling fresh produce to increase their food stocks, in fear of confinement still possible. No food shortage has been observed so far.
A total of 33 new positive cases were announced in Beijing on Tuesday, an increase from previous days. But Beijing City Hall spokesman Xu Hejian said on Monday evening that the spread of the virus was still “under control”.
The authorities have urged companies to resort to teleworking. They also confined around 30 residential buildings and asked travel agencies to suspend group excursions in the capital.
A few days before the May 1 holiday, the town hall also called on the Beijingers not to leave the city unless absolutely necessary.
/ATS