More mass testing for Beijing’s worst-hit district
Chaoyang, home to 4 million people, accounts for around 40pc of cases
A new round of mass testing will be conducted this weekend in the Chaoyang district of Beijing, the area worst affected by the latest wave of Covid-19, as municipal authorities vow to squash the outbreak with stringent curbs.
Beijing reported 66 local infections yesterday, including 13 asymptomatic cases – bringing the tally to 610 since the Omicron variant surfaced on April 22.
Around half the cases reported yesterday and 40 per cent of the total were detected in Chaoyang district, the largest in Beijing and home to nearly 4 million people.
Among the 66 infections, 64 were from quarantine venues and two were detected from mass testing.
Beijing has already conducted two rounds of citywide mass testing to try to cut hidden chains of transmission.
In addition to Chaoyang, other districts that have reported cases since April 25 will also conduct mass testing over the weekend.
Wu Liangyou, from the National Health Commission, said the risk of Covid-19 spreading in Beijing “has lowered to some extent”, thanks to testing, contact screening and controls.
“In general, the pandemic situation around the country is still complicated and severe, with the risk of rebounding,” Wu said yesterday. “We must speed up the handling of regional cluster outbreaks and improve prevention and control measures.”
Authorities in the capital have moved quickly to control the outbreak, relying on intensive mass testing, stringent quarantine measures and targeted lockdowns in affected areas.
The Chaoyang district government issued a notice on Thursday night, forcing all workplaces and public venues to close indefinitely, except for those supplying essentials. It also called for construction work to halt.
Public transport services in Chaoyang were suspended on Thursday after dozens of residential buildings had been sealed off in the past few weeks.
The World Trade Centre, a complex of hotels, commercial centres and shopping malls at the heart of the central business district in Chaoyang, is under lockdown after it was visited by a confirmed case. The government has banned dining in restaurants and shut down entertainment and sports venues.
People entering public venues or using public transport across the city must show a negative result from a PCR test taken within the previous seven days as Beijing’s precautionary measures become part of “normality”, the municipal government said yesterday. It has released a list of free PCR sampling sites, including 292 locations in Chaoyang.
In neighbouring Dongcheng district, QR codes are pasted on the doors of public toilets. People must scan their health code and PCR test result before they can use the facilities.
In Fangshan district, people are also required to work from home and food delivery riders must wear a particular type of close-fitting mask.
Accountant Chen Zheng, 28, said she was sent home after a property manager told her company in Chaoyang to compel all employees to work from home from noon on Thursday.
“It’s good news. All restaurants around our office are closing. I was worrying about what to eat for lunch,” Chen said.
After arriving home in Chaoyang, she rushed to a grocery store in her neighbourhood.
“Almost all vegetables have been snapped up. I only got a direlooking cabbage,” she said.
“It has been 15 days since this [coronavirus] cluster began. My living radius is getting smaller and smaller.
“Every day, I work, take a short walk in the neighbourhood and sleep. Now I cannot even go to the office. My patience for this kind of depressing life is running low.”
During a meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping on Thursday, the Politburo’s Standing Committee pledged to “fight against any speech that distorts, questions or rejects our country’s Covidcontrol policy”, state broadcaster CCTV said.
China is one of the few countries to have maintained a version of the zero-Covid policy as most of the world has begun to live with the virus.
While the policy helped China keep its caseload down early in the pandemic, it has been less effective against the highly transmissible but less deadly Omicron variant, prompting criticism of the disruption it caused to people’s livelihood and the economy.