Beijing has locked down parts of the city as it once again struggles to contain the Omicron COVID variant, with 74 new cases registered in the past 24 hour period.
In Sanlitun, a popular shopping and nightlife district in Chinese people In the capital, all bars were closed and restaurants switched to takeout only, while 123 non-essential shops were also closed.
Around the city, various residential areas have been locked down after detecting cases, those who test positive will be taken to quarantine centers.
Chaoyang District, Beijing’s largest area and home to Sanlitun, will continue to conduct daily testing of its 3.5 million residents at least until Wednesday.
The most recent outbreak comes just days after the city eased control measures, following a five-week lockdown from late April where parks, schools, shopping malls and homes Shops were closed and many public transport suspended.
Recent cases – more than 300 in total – all related to a super-spreading eventwhere a man visited a dive bar called Paradise Supermarket over the weekend, along with several other nightclubs.
Authorities have warned that the outbreak in Beijing is “violent” but have yet to announce city-wide containment measures.
The fight to contain the outbreak is once again centered on China’s continued pursuit of zero COVID.
Other countries that have followed similar policies, such as Australia and South Korea, have since lifted most restrictions as they learned to live with the virus.
China describes such approaches as “laying back” in the face of the virus and says its health care system would be overwhelmed if it followed them, despite the availability of a vaccine.
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Locals fear a never-ending cycle of closures, even as authorities appear to be taking a more targeted approach.
Shanghai, home to 24 million people, passed through two months of tight lockdown before restrictions were lifted two weeks ago.
However, some districts have been included in the test and continued mass testing.
