A health worker receives a swab sample from a woman to be tested for Covid-19 coronavirus at a swab collection site in Beijing on June 12. NOEL CELIS / AFP / Getty Images
Beijing’s most populous district, Chaoyang, announced three rounds of mass testing to quell a “ferocious” outbreak of COVID-19 that erupted at a bar in a nightlife and shopping area last week, shortly after the city relaxed the imposed edges during an outbreak in April.
City health officials said there had been 166 confirmed cases so far related to the outbreak that began Thursday at the Heaven Supermarket in the Sanlitun area, 145 of them customers of the bar.
Mass tests would take place Monday through Wednesday in Chaoyang District, where the bar is located, officials told a news conference.
The total number of cases and deaths due to the pandemic is still extremely low in China compared to many countries in the world.
But while much of the world has relaxed its edges, Chinese authorities maintain their zero-COVID policy, trying to curb outbreaks soon with measures that include strong movement restrictions and mass testing.
Xu Hejian, a spokesman for the Beijing city government, told Sunday’s briefing that the current outbreak in the capital is “fierce.”
“Currently, the risk of a new spread still exists. The most urgent task at this time is to trace the origin of the cluster and also manage and control the risks,” he said, adding that Beijing must prevent the emergence of “epidemic amplifiers”.
Two buildings housing hundreds of residents in a Chaoyang compound were severely blocked on Sunday after a single positive case, a residential committee worker told Reuters.
Large metal barricades were set up around the site. Personnel dressed in hazardous material wearing disinfectant entered the building and additional security and police were introduced at the exits.
Several nearby businesses, including Paradise Massage & Spa, were also temporarily blocked with police tape and security personnel blocking the exits.
A handful of customers and room staff would be locked up for at least two days while checks were made, a government worker told Reuters.
Some residents of Beijing reported that on Sunday they received several text messages telling them to inform the neighborhood organizations if they had recently visited the bars in Sanlitun.
Just a week ago, state media reported that Beijing would further relax the sidewalks of COVID-16 by allowing food inside.
In Shanghai, subject to a two-month blockade until early June, authorities announced a round of tests on Saturday for most of its 25 million residents.
Shanghai officials told reporters they found one symptomatic case and four asymptomatic cases on Sunday afternoon, after finding 10 new local symptomatic cases and 19 local asymptomatic cases the day before.
Dinner services could be resumed at several restaurants and restaurants in three suburban districts, Shanghai officials said.
China reported 275 new cases of coronavirus on June 11, of which 134 were symptomatic and 141 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said Sunday.
There were no further deaths, leaving the pandemic total at 5,226. As of Saturday, mainland China had confirmed 224,781 cases with symptoms.
China’s Shanghai mall will close millions of people for massive COVID-19 tests this weekend, just 10 days after lifting its grueling two-month blockade. This worries residents and raises concerns about the business impact.
Reuters
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