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BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing on Tuesday launched mass coronavirus testing for practically all its 21 million residents, as fears grew that the Chinese language capital could also be positioned below a strict lockdown like Shanghai.
China is attempting to include a wave of infections in Shanghai — its largest metropolis — which has been nearly solely locked down for weeks and reported 52 new Covid deaths on Tuesday.
Beijing authorities have ordered individuals in 12 central districts accounting for many of its inhabitants to endure three rounds of PCR testing after the detection of dozens of instances within the metropolis in current days.
The capital’s most populous downtown district Chaoyang was the primary to order mass testing from Monday, with individuals ready in lengthy strains to be swabbed by well being staff in protecting gear.
Eleven extra districts started testing residents on Tuesday.
The testing order for Chaoyang had sparked panic shopping for from Sunday evening, with residents lining up at supermarkets with full carts and bulging buying baggage as state media tried to reassure the general public that there have been plentiful provides.
Beijing residents advised AFP they feared a repeat of the sudden lockdown in Shanghai, the place individuals have struggled to acquire meals and medical take care of non-Covid circumstances.
Beijing well being official Xu Hejian mentioned Monday that the unfold of the virus within the metropolis was nonetheless “throughout the scope of management”.
The capital reported 33 new instances on Tuesday, a fraction of the greater than 16,000 tallied in Shanghai in the identical interval.
However Beijing officers are anxious to keep away from a spiralling outbreak.
They’ve urged firms to permit workers to do business from home, sealed off a number of buildings and suspended native group tourism forward of the lengthy Could 1 nationwide vacation.
Authorities on Monday urged Beijing residents to not depart the town for these holidays except crucial.
© Agence France-Presse
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