Beijing today launched mass anti-Covid tests in 10 other districts of the city, in addition to the central one of Chaoyang, aiming at coverage of about 20 of its 23 million total residents , amid widespread fears of an upcoming lockdown as already in place in Shanghai.
RESTRICTIONS - The capital announced that it had ascertained, yesterday, another 32 infections of Covid-19, plus one asymptomatic, based on data from the Municipal Health Commission. In Shanghai , with 52 new deaths, infections dropped to 17,000 (from about 19,500 on Sunday), of which 1,661 confirmed and 15,319 asymptomatic.
On fears of what happened in Shanghai, where more than 1,000 cases were reported before the lockdown was imposed on 26 million residents in March, many people in Beijing flocked to supermarkets to stock up on food and basic necessities. despite the assurances of the authorities on the continuity of supplies.
From today the order to close gyms , theaters and tourist sites is also operational, following the tests on the nearly 4 million inhabitants of Chaoyang, the most populous district. Yesterday, in a night briefing, local authorities ordered tests on 10 other districts and an economic development zone.
THE TESTS - "To contain the risk of spreading the epidemic with determination and effectively maintain the health of citizens, it was decided to expand the scope of health checks based on the tests carried out in the Chaoyang district", explained a spokesman for the municipal government.
Three rounds of nucleic acid tests will be conducted today, Thursday and Saturday in the Dongcheng, Xicheng, Haidian, Fengtai, Shijingshan, Fangshan, Tongzhou, Shunyi, Changping, Daxing districts as well as in the economic and technological development area of Beijing.
The objective, to date, is to avert a Shanghai-style blockade, which would be another serious blow to the economic prospects of the country and beyond.
MARKETS - The production activities of the Chinese financial hub, which is worth about 5% of the national GDP, slowed down sharply in the first quarter: industrial production in March fell by 7.5% annually and retail sales by 18.9%. Asian markets suffered the worst trading day in over a month on Monday due to fears over the health situation: Chinese stocks (Shanghai -5.13% and Shenzhen -6.48%) plummeted to the lows of the last two years .
Nationally, China recorded nearly 18,000 cases on Monday (about 2,000 fewer than Sunday), including 1,908 local and 15,816 asymptomatic.
(Unioneonline / vl)