- Beijing is launching the first of three rounds of mass tests in the populated area
- Mass tests fuel concerns about food shortages and supplies
- China’s stock market has shrunk due to fears that Beijing may join Shanghai in a blockade
BEIJING, April 25 (Reuters) – Beijing residents have snatched food and other supplies as the city’s largest district began mass testing of all residents for COVID-19 on Monday, raising fears of a Shanghai-style blockade after dozens of cases in the capital in recent times. days.
Authorities in Chaoyang, home to 3.45 million people, ordered residents and workers to be tested three times later this week, as Beijing warned that the virus had spread “secretly” in the city for about a week before open.
“I’m getting ready for the worst,” said a graduate student from the nearby Haidian neighborhood named Zhang, who placed online orders for dozens of snacks and 10 pounds of apples.
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Shoppers in the city crowded shops and online platforms to stock up on leafy vegetables, fresh meat, instant noodles and rolls of toilet paper.
In Shanghai, where most of its 25 million people have been locked up for weeks, the main difficulty with food supplies is the lack of enough couriers to deliver to homes, fueling anger among residents. Read more
Beijing’s supermarket chains, including Carrefour (CARR.PA) and Wumart, said they had more than doubled their stocks, while Meituan’s e-commerce platform (3690.HK), focused on groceries, increased stocks and the number of sorting staff. and delivery, according to the state-sponsored Beijing Daily.
Supermarket chains must ensure that goods are replenished on time, a Beijing spokesman told a news conference late in the day, adding that the city’s refined grain and butter reserves could meet residents’ consumption for 30 days.
The opening hours of the stores will also be extended, the official said.
As of Friday, Beijing reported 70 locally transmitted cases in eight of its 16 districts, with Chaoyang accounting for 46 of the total, a local health official said on Monday.
Even in areas like Heidian, which have not yet reported cases of the current epidemic, there is a growing sense of concern about food supply.
A man tests for nucleic acid on a mobile test site following the coronavirus disease epidemic (COVID-19) in Beijing, China, April 25, 2022. REUTERS / Carlos Garcia Rawlins
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While the number of cases in the Chinese capital is small compared to the global and hundreds of thousands in Shanghai, the Chaoyang district told residents to reduce public activities, although most schools, shops and offices remain open.
Chinese stocks fell on Monday, with the blue-chip index CSI300 (.CSI300) closing 4.9% at a two-year low, weighted by worries that Beijing is on the verge of joining Shanghai in a blockade. L2N2WN0GK read more
The Shanghai Composite Index (.SSEC) fell 5.1%.
Beijing’s Chaoyang district is home to many wealthy people, most foreign embassies, as well as entertainment venues and corporate headquarters. There is little production.
“The current outbreak in Beijing is spreading secretly from sources that are still unknown and is developing rapidly,” a municipal official said on Sunday.
More than a dozen buildings in Chaoyang have been locked up. For the rest of the area, people had to be tested on Monday and again on Wednesday and Friday.
On Monday morning, people lined up at makeshift test sites served by paramedics in protective suits. In mass test campaigns in China, many samples are tested together.
“I came, as the news suggested, at 6 a.m. to test, just to make sure I could get to work on time,” said a man in his 30s who is queuing up for a test at his apartment complex.
By early afternoon, traffic restrictions in one part of Chaoyang had been tightened, with residents being told not to leave the area at all and not to leave their local complexes for minor reasons, state television reported.
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Report by Ryan Wu, Roxana Liu, Muyu Sue, Zhang Min and Albi Zhang; Edited by Tony Munro, Himani Sarkar, Emelia Sitol-Mataris and Alex Richardson
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