BEIJING – The Chinese capital Beijing has headed towards an alert state in the past two weeks, as a spate of Covid-19 cases in the city sparked mass tests, the shutdown of some residential areas and sparked massive rallies and performances. canceled.
About 18 locally transmitted cases, the first domestic infections in Beijing in more than 150 days, have been detected since December 14.
City officials announced that Beijing would go into “emergency mode” on Sunday (Dec. 27) and have implemented escalating controls in recent days.
Separate outbreaks have also been reported in the cities of Dalian and Shenyang in Northern Liaoning Province.
The spike in cases has raised concerns in parts of Beijing, particularly in the Shunyi district where Beijing Capital International Airport is located, that the virus could circulate unseen in the capital.
The city completed mass testing of all Shunyi district residents on Tuesday, but no new cases emerged. Nearly 1.3 million tests have been conducted in the district since last weekend.
Shunyi resident Tim Lin, who was screened for the virus during mass tests on Sunday, told The Straits Times that residents were “absolutely scared.”
“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 make a presentation. to give. negative nucleic acid test result.
The municipal government has announced that the situation in Beijing is “serious” and said residents should be very alert.
The latest wave of cases began almost two weeks ago when a Chinese citizen arriving in Beijing from Hong Kong developed symptoms after being released from quarantine on December 13.
Two cases related to him were subsequently discovered.
Then, as of last Wednesday, more cases were discovered, including seven on Tuesday, mostly in the Shunyi district of the city. So far, things don’t seem to be related to the Hong Kong man.
According to data from the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), 18 local transmissions were recorded on Tuesday.
“The situation for the prevention and control of epidemics in Beijing is complex. We must be very vigilant and take strict measures to prevent imported cases and a domestic recovery,” said Ms. Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing CDC on Monday.
Authorities have been introducing escalating curbs since the weekend.
Movie theaters, tourist attractions, and parks have been commissioned to operate 75 percent, and major performances and gatherings have been suspended. The winter holidays of primary and secondary school students were brought forward earlier in January.
Some 10 villages, communities and buildings in Shunyi have also been shut down, authorities said at a news conference on Tuesday, and officials have been told to stay in Beijing for 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 cause for alarm, the city “appears to face a more difficult and seemingly dangerous situation as the origins of many infections have yet to be traced.”
But Chinese epidemiological experts have said the virus is unlikely to spread widely in Beijing, as mass testing has not revealed any hidden cases so far.
Dr. Jin Dong-Yan, a professor of virology at the University of Hong Kong, pointed out that the seven cases reported Tuesday were all close contacts of previous infections and went undetected through mass testing.
“The numbers are low. There is no evidence that the virus is spreading widely,” said Dr. Jin.
He pointed out that the language used by the Beijing authorities on the recent wave of cases – with terms such as “emergency mode” and getting “war feet” – instead aimed to get a population tired of various social distance measures back into action. to bring.
“The real concern is the holiday season ahead, as a lot of people will be traveling, and if an infected person goes unnoticed, there could be a real risk of a super spreader event. The main job of the government is to prevent this,” he said. .