Beijing enforces mass COVID-19 testing and closes neighbourhoods

pharmafile | April 26, 2022 | News story | Medical Communications  

Beijing is enforcing mass testing and closing down access to neighbourhoods as it seeks to contain a new COVID-19 outbreak. This announcement prompted panic buying in the city on Monday 25th, but this appeared to settle recently.

The city has recorded 80 cases in the most recent wave, while Shanghai has seen more than 300,000 and 190 deaths this month.

Beijing locked down residents in an area one by three kilometres, telling them to work from home. Although this is not yet a complete lockdown, stadiums, sports fields, cinemas, karaoke bars, and other entertainments venues have been ordered to close.

The city has also shut down some or all buildings in five residential compounds, adding to others that have been locked down for two days. The aim of the lockdown is to curb the spike in cases that has been shrouding Shanghai.

Shanghai residents have been buckling under strict lockdown conditions, with over 25 million residents locked in their homes with no clear timeline for the lifting of restrictions. There are currently more than 21,000 COVID-19 cases in the city. There are medication and good shortages, and workers at companies including Tesla are being forced to sleep in their factories overnight to reduce transmission, and elderly people have died inside the city’s cabin hospitals.

Amidst restrictions, concerns among residents about the economy have been raised. Many people have businesses and financial markets, with Chinese stocks, lingering near two-year lows.

Lina Adams

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