BEIJING (AP)-Beijing will conduct mass testing for most of its 21 million people, authorities said Monday as the new distribution of COVID-19 triggered food supplies for residents concerned about possibility of a Shanghai -style lockdown.
The Chinese capital has begun mass testing people in one of its 16 districts, where most new cases have already been reported. The city also imposed the closure of individual residential buildings and a section of the city. Today, health officials said the tests will be extended to all but five remote districts on Tuesday.
Although only 70 cases have been reported since the outbreak on Friday, authorities have taken drastic measures against China’s “zero-COVID” strategy to prevent further spread of the virus.
Some residents worked from home and many collected food to protect them from closure, as happened in many cities, including the Shanghai Financial Center. The cities of Anyang in central China and Dandong on the North Korean border were the last to start closing as the Omicron variant covers a large country with 1.4 billion people.
Shanghai, which has been closed for more than two weeks, has suffered more than 19,000 new infections and 51 deaths in the past 24 hours. The death toll was announced Up to 138 from the current explosion.
Beijing residents removed rice, noodles, vegetables and other foods as supermarkets and vendors rushed to rebuild some vacant shelves. State media reported that, despite increased purchases, inventories remained high.
Consumers are worried, but they are not confused. One woman, holding two bags of vegetables, eggs and frozen dumplings, said she was buying a little more than usual. One man said he was not worried, just being careful because he had a 2 year old daughter.
Beijing health officials said 29 new cases were detected in the 24 hours before 4pm Monday night, up from 70 on Friday.
The city ordered mass testing in the Chaoyang area where 46 cases were found. Chaoyang’s 3.5 million residents, as well as people working in the district, have to pass exams every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Test sites were set up at night and in the morning in residential complexes and office buildings in Chaoyang around the district. Residents and workers were temporarily stationed at outdoor stations to be quickly evacuated by a worker wearing full protection. The exam is free.
“I think Beijing should be fine,” Gao Hyang said as he waited for the review on COVID-19 online. “Based on the previous answer of my topic, in case of an emergency, I think delivery is guaranteed. Also, there are lessons we have learned from other cities. “I think we can prepare well”.
Shanghai succumbed to harsh lockdown conditions, forcing residents to come together to buy food through group purchases. Goods were seized at the port of Shanghai, which would affect supply and industrial production and hinder economic growth.
Beijing detained residents in an area about 2-3 kilometers (1 to 2 miles), telling them to work from home and stay in their residential buildings. It’s not a complete closure, but cinemas, karaoke bars and other entertainment venues are closed.
Elsewhere, the city also closed some or all of the buildings in five residential buildings, and added others closed on Sunday.
Associated Press video producer Olivia Zhang and researcher Yu Bing contributed to this report.
Source: Huffpost
