A Covid-19-linked “explosive” bar explosion has occurred in the Chinese capital, Beijing, a government spokesman said on Saturday as the Shanghai Mall carried out mass tests to curb a surge in hairdressing-related cases.
The warning was followed by another tightening of Covid restrictions in Beijing on Thursday, with at least two districts closing some entertainment venues after an outbreak erupted in an area full of nightclubs, shops, and embassies.
While China’s infection rate is low by global standards, the country has maintained a zero-infection policy for the coronavirus, citing the need to protect the elderly and the medical system even as other countries struggle to live with the virus.
So far, the country of 1.4 billion people has recorded only 5,226 Covid-19 deaths.
Beijing authorities said on Saturday that all of the 61 new cases reported in the city on Friday were or were linked to a visit to the Heaven supermarket bar.
“The latest epidemic… is very explosive and wide-ranging,” Beijing Municipal Government spokesman Sue Hejiang was quoted as saying by BGNES.
As of 15:00 (07:00 GMT) on Saturday, 46 new local cases have been reported in the capital, and all people are already isolated or under observation, health spokesman Liu Xiaofeng said.
The city did not announce any new restrictions at the briefing, but the Beijing Sports Authority later said that all off-campus and “off-line” teen sports activities would be canceled from Sunday.
So far, there have been 115 cases and 6,158 bar-related close contacts, once again putting the city of 22 million on alert.
Less than two weeks ago, Beijing eased restrictions imposed to combat the epidemic, which began in April.
On Friday, the sprawling Universal Beijing Resort on the outskirts of the city canceled its plan to reopen. City officials said three of his employees visited the Heaven Supermarket bar.
Many neighborhoods in the capital have been put on lockdown and residents have been ordered to stay at home.
Mass testing
Shanghai authorities announced three new confirmed local cases and an asymptomatic case found outside quarantine zones on Saturday as nearly all of the city’s 25 million residents began a new round of COVID-19 tests.
This weekend, authorities ordered all residents of 15 of Shanghai’s 16 districts to undergo PCR tests, and in five districts, residents were prohibited from leaving their homes during the testing period. A city official said that until July 31, residents must take at least one PCR test per week.
China’s most populous city only lifted a grueling two-month COVID-19 lockdown on June 1st.
“I’m a little worried because if there are positive cases in the complex, it will be closed,” Shanghai resident Shi Weichi said, adding that stocking up on some supplies “in case the previous situation happens again.”
Shanghai authorities said they had taken notice and fired several district officials for allowing passes to a hotel that isolates international arrivals and is listed as one of the sources of the wave of Omicron strain in Shanghai.
They also said they warned or fired some executives of the state-owned company that owns the Red Rose beauty salon, where three cases were identified among employees this week.
The salon staff did not follow the instructions for conducting daily PCR tests.
Shanghai reported seven new local symptomatic cases on Saturday, up to one more, with six found outside quarantine zones.
The city recorded nine new locally asymptomatic cases, six more than the day before.
A total of 210 new cases of coronavirus have been reported in mainland China as of June 10, of which 79 were symptomatic and 131 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said.
This is more than 151 new cases the day before, of which 45 were symptomatic and 106 asymptomatic.
As of Friday, 224,659 cases have been confirmed in mainland China.