Supermarket shelves empty in Beijing suburbs amid fear of new lockdowns
Residents of some parts of China’s capital have been emptying supermarket shelves and overwhelming delivery apps after the city government ordered faster construction of Covid-19 quarantine centres and field hospitals.
Uncertainty and scattered, unconfirmed reports of lockdowns in at least some Beijing districts have fuelled demand for food and other supplies, something not seen in the city for months.
Unusually large numbers of shoppers in the city's northern suburbs left shelves bare in markets, but customers were relatively few in the centre of thecityof21million,wheresupplies remain abundant.
Dailycasesofcovidacrossthe countryarehittingrecordnumbers, with 32,695 reported yesterday. Of those, 1,860 were in Beijing, the majority of them asymptomatic.
Improvised quarantine centres and field hospitals hastily thrown up in gymnasiums, exhibition centres and other large, open indoor spaces have become notorious for overcrowding, poor sanitation, scarce food supplies and lights that stay on 24/7.
Most residents of the city have already been advised not toleavetheircompounds,some of which are being fenced in.
At entrances, workers clad head to toe in white hazmat suits stop unauthorised people andmakesureresidentsshowa recentnegativecovidtestresult on their mobile phone health apps to gain entry.
Several university campuses have been closed off and studentsinlowergradeshavebeen shifted to online classes.
Meanwhile, some of Beijing's grocery delivery services have reachedcapacity.anincreasein demandcombinedwithaworkershortageleftsomecustomers unable to book same-day delivery slots yesterday for food and supplies from popular online grocery services such as Alibaba's Freshippo and Meituan Maicai.
Online, some Chinese users said some delivery personnel were unable to work because their compounds were locked down. The reports could not be verified. Alibaba did not immediately comment.
City government spokesman Xu Hejian said it was necessary "to strengthen the management and service guarantee" of quarantine centres and field hospitals where people who test positive for Covid or have been in close contact with an infected person are taken by police.
Authorities must "further accelerate" their construction and "co-ordinate the allocation of space, facilities, materials, personnel and other resources," Mr Xu said.
Officials have in recent days repeatedly insisted China must stick with its hard-line "zerocovid" policy which mandates lockdowns, mass testing and quarantines for anyone suspectedofhavingcomeintocontact with the virus.
The policy is seen as taking a harsh toll on the economy and upendinglivesinmanychinese cities,leadingtheworldhealth Organisation and others to call for a change in tack – calls the ruling Communist Party has angrily rejected.
While the number of cases and deaths in China is relatively low compared to the US and other countries, the party remainscommittedtothestrategy, which aims to isolate every case and eliminate the virus entirely.