COVID-19: Beijing tests millions and locks up thousands after ‘violent’ outbreak at 24-hour bar | World News

Beijing is rushing to contain a COVID-19 outbreak that began in a 24-hour bar known for its cheap alcohol and large crowds – with millions under mandatory screening and thousands being targeted.

The outbreak of nearly 200 cases has been linked to the downtown Heaven supermarket bar, which reopened as curbs in the Chinese capital eased last week.

It highlights the challenge for China to succeed from zero. COVID“Policy like most countries has decided to learn to live with the virus.

The reappearance of COVID-19 The infection also raised new concerns about the outlook for the world’s second-largest economy.

It also appeared when Shanghai – China’s most populous city – just emerged after two months of lockdown in an attempt to contain the virus.

In Beijing, dinner service at restaurants resumed last week after more than a month of enforcement Coronavirus measures on the city of 22 million inhabitants.

Heaven Supermarket Bar is one of those locations that is quickly regaining popularity among rowdy young crowds under strict measures.

The bar, where customers flock to the aisles to buy anything from local spirits to Belgian beers, is famous for its tables covered with empty bottles and people dozing off on sofas after midnight.

With nearly 200 bar-related COVID cases as of June 9, authorities described the outbreak as “intense” and
“explode”.

A resident surnamed Cao, who runs a convenience store in Beijing’s largest district of Chaoyang, where the cluster of bars was discovered, said: “We have to check every day. It’s a bit complicated, but it’s necessary. .”

“The virus situation has affected our business a bit, it’s down about 20 to 30%.”

Many locations were closed during Beijing’s lockdown, including shopping malls and gyms, and parts of the city’s public transport system were suspended, with millions people urged to work from home.

Following the bar outbreak in Chaoyang, authorities launched a three-day mass inspection campaign among its approximately 3.5 million residents on Monday.

About 10,000 close contacts with the bar’s patrons have been identified, and their residential buildings are locked down.

Several planned school reopenings in the district have been postponed due to the outbreak.

Checkpoints in the city showed people queuing more than 100 meters long, according to witnesses.

Some residential compounds have been barricaded with large metal barriers, with people in hazmat suits spraying disinfectant nearby.

The state-backed Beijing Evening News wrote in a commentary that the bar cluster was due to loopholes and complacency in epidemic prevention.

The newspaper wrote: “At a time when … normality in the city is being restored, the collapse of the supermarket bar Heaven means that the toil and efforts of countless people have become futile. “.

If an outbreak develops, “the consequences can be severe, and no one will want to see it,” it added.

As Beijing authorities tackled new COVID cases in April, retail sales in the capital fell 16% year-on-year, while property sales fell 25%.

Data for May, due later this month, is also expected to be very bad. Before the bar cases, there were high hopes for a June recovery.