Beijing enforces mass COVID testing, closes neighborhoods
Posted April 26, 2022 7:00 am
BEIJING (AP) - China's capital Beijing is enforcing mass testing and closing down access to neighborhoods as it seeks to contain a new COVID-19 outbreak.
Announcement of the testing had sparked panic buying in the city of 21 million on Monday, but the situation appeared to calm on Tuesday with public transport largely keeping to normal schedules and roads packed with commuters.
Fears of total lockdown have been fed by the situation in the southern business hub of Shanghai, where 25 million residents have only gradually been allowed to leave their homes after three weeks of confinement.
The city of Anyang in central China and Dandong on the border with North Korea became the latest to start lockdowns as the omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads.
Shanghai has buckled under strict lockdown conditions that have driven residents to band together to get food delivered through group buying. Goods have backed up at Shanghai's port, affecting supplies and factory production and crimping economic growth.
Beijing locked down residents in an area about 2 by 3 kilometers (1 by 2 miles), telling them to work from home and stay in their residential compounds. It wasn't a total lockdown but stadiums, sports fields, cinemas, karaoke bars and other entertainment venues were ordered closed.
Elsewhere, the city also shut down some or all buildings in five residential compounds, adding to others have been locked down for two days. Beijing has recorded 80 cases in the most recent wave, while Shanghai has seen more than 300,000 and 190 deaths this month.
People wearing face masks stand in line for coronavirus tests in a neighborhood in the Dongcheng district of Beijing, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Associated Press
People wearing face masks line up outside a supermarket in Beijing, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Associated Press
A worker takes a swab sample at a COVID test center on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, in Beijing. Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
The Associated Press
Delivery drivers wearing face masks gather before the start of their work day in Beijing, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Associated Press
People wearing face masks stand in line for coronavirus tests at an office building in the Dongcheng district of Beijing, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Associated Press
People wearing face masks stand in line for coronavirus tests in a neighborhood in the Dongcheng district of Beijing, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Associated Press
People wearing face masks stand in line for coronavirus tests at an office building in the Dongcheng district of Beijing, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Associated Press
People wearing face masks ride across an intersection in Beijing, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Associated Press
A man has his throat swabbed for a coronavirus test at a private testing site in the Dongcheng district of Beijing, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Associated Press
People wearing face masks line up outside a supermarket in Beijing, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Associated Press
People wearing face masks stand in line for coronavirus tests at a private testing site in the Dongcheng district of Beijing, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Associated Press
A man has his throat swabbed for a coronavirus test at a private testing site in the Dongcheng district of Beijing, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Associated Press
People wearing face masks stand in line for coronavirus tests at an office building in the Dongcheng district of Beijing, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Associated Press
Delivery drivers wearing face masks gather before the start of their work day in Beijing, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Associated Press
People wearing face masks stand in line for coronavirus tests in a neighborhood in the Dongcheng district of Beijing, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The Associated Press
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