Beijing begins mass testing after a spike in Covid cases

BEIJING: Beijing has kicked off mass testing for millions of residents in the Chinese capital after a spike in Covid cases,a media report said on Monday. The Chaoyang district reported 26 cases over the weekend, the highest number so far in Beijing's latest surge, said the BBC report.

All 3.5 million residents in Chaoyang, Beijing's most populous district, will undergo three rounds of mass testing, according to a notice by the city's disease prevention team.

The news prompted residents to rush to stock up essential supplies, with images circulating on local media showing supermarket shelves emptied of goods and snaking queues at check-out counters.

Beijing's major supermarkets also extended their opening hours to accommodate the spike in demand. It comes amid fears that Beijing could face a similar situation to Shanghai, which has seen some 25 million people shut in their homes for weeks.

"Never thought I would go to the market early in the morning... When I got there, all the eggs and prawns were gone and all the meat was snatched up," the BBC quoted a Weibo user in Shanghai as saying, adding they managed to get some vegetables. (IANS)

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