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BEIJING – The Chinese capital of Beijing in the past two weeks has been approaching a state of alarm, as a surge in Covid-19 cases in the city prompted massive testing, closures of some residential areas and sparked mass gatherings and performances. cancelled.
Since December 14, some 18 cases of local transmission have been detected, the first domestic infections in Beijing in more than 150 days.
City officials announced that Beijing would go into “emergency mode” on Sunday (December 27) and implemented increasing controls in recent days.
Separate outbreaks have also been reported in the cities of Dalian and Shenyang in the northern province of Liaoning.
The increase in cases has caused concern in parts of Beijing, particularly in the Shunyi district, where the Beijing Capital International Airport is located, that the virus may be circulating unseen in the capital.
The city completed mass testing of all residents of the Shunyi district on Tuesday, which yielded no new cases. About 1.3 million tests have been conducted in the district since last weekend.
Shunyi resident Tim Lin, who was screened Sunday for the virus in mass tests, told The Straits Times that residents “were definitely afraid.”
“I think people are quite anxious because there are quite a few older people and young families living here,” said the 37-year-old product designer, adding that his company had prohibited employees from coming to work unless they could present a negative result. of the nucleic acid test.
The municipal government has announced that the situation in Beijing is “severe” and said residents should be on high alert.
The latest series of cases began nearly two weeks ago when a Chinese national who arrived in Beijing from Hong Kong developed symptoms after being released from quarantine on December 13.
Two cases related to him were later discovered.
Then, starting last Wednesday, more cases began to be discovered, including seven on Tuesday, mostly in the city’s Shunyi district. So far, the cases do not appear to be related to the Hong Kong man.
As of Tuesday, 18 local transmissions had been recorded, according to data from the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC).
“The situation for epidemic prevention and control in Beijing is complex. We must be on high alert and strictly implement measures to prevent imported cases and a domestic spike,” Ms. Pang Xinghuo, Beijing CDC deputy director, said on Monday. .
Authorities have put increasing restrictions in place since the weekend.
Cinemas, tourist attractions and parks have been ordered to operate at 75% capacity, and large shows and gatherings have been suspended. The elementary and middle school students have moved up their winter break to the beginning of January.
About 10 villages, communities and buildings in Shunyi have also been sealed off, authorities said at a press conference on Tuesday, and officials have been told to remain in Beijing during the upcoming New Year and Chinese New Year holidays.
The state-run China Daily said in an editorial on Tuesday that while there was no need to panic, the city “appears to be facing a more challenging and apparently more dangerous situation as the source of many infections has yet to be identified.” .
But Chinese epidemiology experts have said the virus is unlikely to be spreading widely in Beijing, as massive tests so far have uncovered no hidden cases.
Dr. Jin Dong-Yan, a professor of virology at the University of Hong Kong, noted that the seven cases reported on Tuesday were all close contacts from previous infections and were not detected by mass testing.
“The numbers are low. There are no signs that the virus is spreading widely,” Dr. Jin said.
He pointed out that the language of the Beijing authorities about the recent series of cases, using terms such as “emergency mode” and putting themselves on a “war footing,” seemed rather geared toward making a population fatigued by various social distancing measures return. to action.
“The real concern is the upcoming Christmas season, because a lot of people will be traveling, and if an infected person goes unnoticed, there could be a real risk of a super-spreading event. The main task of the government is to prevent this from happening.” he said.
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