China’s capital Beijing is experiencing a once-linked “explosive” Covid-19 outbreak, a government spokesman said on Saturday, as the commercial hub, Shanghai, is trying to stem the surge in cases tied to hair salons. scale tested.
The warning followed a new tightening of curb on covid Beginning Thursday, at least two districts in Beijing closed some entertainment venues after a flare-up in neighborhoods full of nightlife, shopping and embassies.
While China’s infection rate is below global standards, it maintains a zero-Covid policy, citing the need to protect the elderly and the medical system, even as other countries try to live with the virus. We do.
So far, only 5,226 deaths have occurred due to Kovid-19 in the country with a population of 1.4 billion.
Beijing officials said on Saturday that all 61 new cases reported in the city on Friday were either linked to or linked to the Haven supermarket bar.
“The recent outbreak … is strongly explosive in nature and widely widespread,” Beijing municipal government spokesman Xu Hejian told a news briefing.
Health official Liu Xiaofeng said the capital had reported 46 new local cases as of 3 pm (0700 GMT) on Saturday, all already in isolation or under observation.
The city did not announce the new restrictions at the briefing, but later the Beijing sports administration said all off-campus and “offline” sporting activities for teenagers would be canceled from Sunday.
So far 115 cases and 6,158 close contacts linked to the bar have been reported, bringing back the city of 22 million.
Beijing only less than two weeks ago eased restrictions it had imposed to fight a major outbreak that began in April.
The sprawling Universal Beijing Resort – a theme park on the outskirts of the city – scrapped plans to reopen on Friday. City officials said three of its employees had gone to the Haven supermarket bar.
Several neighborhoods in the capital have been put under lockdown, residents have been asked to stay indoors.
test across the city
In Shanghai, authorities announced three new confirmed local cases and one asymptomatic case detected outside quarantine zones on Saturday, as nearly all of the city’s 25 million residents underwent a new round of COVID tests. began.
Authorities this weekend ordered PCR tests for all residents in 15 of Shanghai’s 16 districts, and five districts barred residents from leaving home during the testing period. A city official said residents should complete at least one PCR test a week by July 31.
China’s most populous city only lifted a two-month grueling COVID-19 lockdown on June 1.
“I’m a little worried because if there are positive cases on the premises, it will be sealed,” said Shanghai resident Xi Weiqi. “I’ll properly stock up on some supplies in case the previous situation happens again.”
Shanghai officials said they reprimanded and sacked several district-level officials for lapses at a hotel that was used to block arrivals from overseas, sources in Shanghai’s Omicron version of the coronavirus wave. was indicated as one of.
He also said he warned or fired some officials at a government firm owned by Red Rose Beauty Salon, where three cases were found among workers this week.
He said the salon staff had not followed the guidelines for conducting PCR tests daily.
On Saturday, Shanghai reported seven new local symptomatic cases for the previous day, an increase of one, of whom six were detected outside quarantine zones.
The city also reported nine new local asymptomatic cases, up from six the previous day.
Overall, mainland China reported 210 new coronavirus cases for June 10, of which 79 were symptomatic and 131 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said.
This was up from 151 new cases a day earlier, of them 45 were symptomatic and 106 asymptomatic.
As of Friday, mainland China had 224,659 confirmed cases with symptoms.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.