Beijing tightens security and extends COVID-19 mass testing.
Key Takeaways:
- As officials stepped up efforts to prevent a large COVID-19 pandemic like the one that has practically shut down Shanghai, Beijing police and new fencing limited who might exit a cordoned-off area.
- An 86-year-old Beijing resident named Chen Shengzhen believes that the capital was given more time to prepare than its southern equivalent.
- On Monday, nearly 3.8 million people were tested in China's first round of mass testing in Chaoyang district.
On Tuesday, police and new fencing in Beijing limited who could exit a cordoned-off area as officials stepped up attempts to prevent a big COVID-19 epidemic like the one that has nearly shut down Shanghai.
As mass testing was extended to 11 of Beijing's 16 districts, people lined up for throat swabs throughout the city.
At a late afternoon news briefing, Beijing health officials announced that another 22 cases had been identified in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 92 since the outbreak began five days ago. In Shanghai, where the number of illnesses has surpassed 500,000, and at least 190 people have died, this is a drop in the bucket. In Beijing, no deaths have been reported due to the outbreak, which is still in its early stages.
"I'm not concerned about a supply scarcity in Beijing, so I'm not planning to stock up," Zhang Yifan, who was on his way to be tested in the Dongcheng district, said. "Because if people stock up haphazardly, they risk wasting resources. If people keep too many supplies at home."
Beijing has shut down certain apartment buildings and residential complexes, as well as a bigger urban area covering around 2 by 3 kilometers, which was added on Monday (1 by 2 miles). On Tuesday, workers erected blue metal netting along a section of the area, and police controlled who could exit. Residents have been confined to their homes.
Disruptions in providing food, medicine, and other everyday essentials in Shanghai, a southeast coast commercial powerhouse whose 25 million residents have just been allowed to leave their houses after three weeks of confinement, have fueled fears of a total lockdown.
Chen Shengzhen, an 86-year-old Beijing resident, claims that the capital was given more time to get ready than its southern counterpart.
Shanghai's lockdown "came out of nowhere," Chen told The Associated Press, "therefore the policies and other factors could not be in place," causing short-term challenges in the city.
"My daughter works for the government, and they have made excellent preparations, including beds, quilts, and goods for women's use. We'll be alright even if we have to go into lockdown, "Chen stated.
Residents of Shanghai who were restricted to their apartments or buildings had difficulty obtaining food deliveries and faced increased pricing. The closure of China's largest city has had knock-on repercussions everywhere, as products have backed up at the port of Shanghai, impacting factory production, global supply lines, and China's economic growth.
Zhong Xiaobing, the general manager of Shanghai's Lianhua Supermarket chain, said that goods shipments from other parts of China have improved since the government organized trucks to bring in goods from key transfer stations 10 days ago, but that imports have slowed due to port and other transportation restrictions.
Other Chinese cities have enacted curfews as the omicron variety has proven difficult to regulate, with Baotou in Inner Mongolia being the most recent.
In China's initial round of mass testing in Chaoyang district on Monday, Beijing tested approximately 3.8 million people. According to a Chaoyang official, all of the findings were negative except for one in a group of five tested together. Those five individuals were being tested to see who was infected.
Although Chaoyang has seen the most cases in the Beijing outbreak, authorities agreed to expand testing to ten more areas on Tuesday.