Screening extended to a large part of the inhabitants, increase in the number of cases, closure of gymnasiums and tourist sites: the city of Beijing still lives on Tuesday in fear of general confinement like in Shanghai.
China has been facing an epidemic outbreak since March that affects many provinces to varying degrees. It responds with a zero Covid strategy, accompanied by quarantine and massive screening.
The hardest hit city so far is Shanghai, which on Tuesday announced 52 new deaths and nearly 17,000 positive cases in 24 hours.
The 25 million inhabitants have been under severe confinement since the beginning of April.
Some have difficulty accessing food and those who test positive are sent to quarantine centers with variable hygiene.
The situation is infinitely less serious in Beijing. But more than 100 positive cases have been reported since last week, including 33 new ones announced on Tuesday – an increase from previous days.
– Restaurants open –
In order to identify and isolate infected people as quickly as possible, the Beijing authorities are carrying out a screening campaign which extends from Tuesday to 12 of the 16 districts of the city of 22 million inhabitants.
As of Monday, residents and employees of the Chaoyang district, the city’s most populous and home to many multinationals, offices, embassies and shopping malls, had already been tested.
Eleven new districts began screening their residents on Tuesday. In total, approximately 20 million inhabitants are affected by this campaign.
Several gymnasiums, where Beijingers practice basketball, badminton or table tennis, announced on Tuesday that they would be closed until further notice “to comply with requests from health authorities”.
The Lama Temple, a Buddhist site that attracts many visitors, will close from Wednesday.
Life remains largely normal in the Chinese capital, however. The streets are as busy as usual. Shops, restaurants, cinemas, offices and bars are open.
– ” Under control ” –
Even if the authorities have not mentioned the possibility of confinement, the example of Shanghai frightens many Beijingers who prefer to stockpile food to deal with this eventuality.
They have flocked to supermarkets and online shopping platforms in recent days to buy meat, fruits, vegetables, water, snacks, oil and other basic necessities.
No food shortage has been observed for the moment and the authorities assure that the supply will be able to follow the demand.
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.
The measures taken by Beijing, however, are very moderate compared to those in other places facing similar outbreaks.
The city of Baotou (north China), a major producer of rare earths, called on all of its inhabitants on Monday to stay at home, following the discovery of only two positive cases.