China's capital is the latest city battling a Covid outbreak although it reportedly isn't following Shanghai's contentious lockdowns.
It is two weeks into the latest outbreak of the infectious disease, and Beijing is kicking off mass Covid tests on its 22 million inhabitants.
According to indications by local officials yesterday, the Chinese capital is conducting PCR tests over a three-day period starting today. Testing will encompass twelve Beijing districts including Chaoyang, which is the center of the city’s nightlife and where many foreign embassies are based.
Following this week’s Labor Day holiday, which ends Wednesday, city-based resident workers and students returning to schools and offices have to present a negative Covid result from a test taken in the preceding 48 hours. Authorities also implemented other restrictive measures to prevent the illness from spreading. Dine-in services at restaurants have been limited since Sunday.
Yesterday, Beijing reported 36 symptomatic cases, down from 53 cases on Sunday.
Shanghai Lockdowns
Onlookers believe that Chinese authorities are rushing to rein in the outbreak in Bejing in an effort to avoid a repeat of the highly unpopular lockdowns in Shanghai.
There, residents numbering in the tens of millions were restricted to apartments, with many reporting on both social and traditional media about the difficulties in accessing regular food and medical supplies.
This has prompted a significant and negative response. Demand by wealthy Chinese to immigrate out of the count is reportedly soaring while foreign business chambers have been pleading for policy change.
