In the Chaoyang district, 26 new cases were reported over the weekend. This was the highest number reported since the number of cases began to rise in Beijing.
With the announcement, residents of the neighborhood flocked to supermarkets to buy their basic needs and formed long queues. Photographs of empty grocery shelves were published in local media.
Beijing’s major supermarkets have extended their working hours to meet the increasing demand.
WHAT IS THE LAST SITUATION IN SHANGHAI?
“I didn’t think I’d be going to the grocery store this early… But when I went, all the eggs, shrimps and meat were gone,” said a Shanghai social media user, adding that he could only buy some vegetables.
Another user from Shanghai said, “Seeing people rushing to grocery stores in Beijing is both funny and annoying… It reminds me of what happened exactly one month ago.”
The Global Times newspaper announced that fresh food companies in Beijing are being asked to increase their stocks of essential nutrients such as meat, eggs and vegetables.
In addition, it was reported that health experts said that it will be decided whether to expand the lockdown measures with the application of mass testing.
Speaking to the China Daily newspaper, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control Deputy Director Pang Xinghuo said that they expect the number of cases to increase in Beijing in the coming days.
At the end of March, the number of new cases in Shanghai exceeded 400 thousand and 138 people died as a result of the Covid-19 disease caused by the coronavirus.
Electronic door alarms were among the measures implemented by the Chinese authorities. With this practice, those who contracted the disease were prevented from leaving their homes and forced evacuation of patients from their homes was ensured within the scope of disinfection procedures.
In addition, green barricades were erected in parts of Shanghai without prior warning, effectively preventing people from leaving their homes.
Unlike many other countries, China follows a “zero Covid” strategy.
China had managed to keep infection levels relatively low at the start of the pandemic, but had difficulties with containment measures to prevent the spread of new and more contagious variants of the virus.