Beijing announced the closure of dozens of metro stations on Wednesday (4), in another measure intensifying movement restrictions to contain the covid epidemic in the Chinese capital of 21 million people.
The world’s second-largest economy is battling the most serious coronavirus outbreak since the first wave of the pandemic, and most cases are concentrated in Shanghai, the country’s economic heartland, which has followed lockdown orders for more than a month.
Scenes of chaos and anger over the restrictive measures in Shanghai worry Beijing residents: Despite the small number of cases, they fear an incarceration in the capital.
Beijing on Wednesday recorded only 51 cases of local infections, including asymptomatic ones, while Shanghai’s daily balance crossed 5,000 on a downward trend despite the relaxation of some measures.
In the capital, residential complexes with positive cases of covid have been quarantined, many tourist destinations have imposed restrictions on the often busy May Day holiday, and dining in restaurants is prohibited.
And residents began stocking up on food and essentials, fearing an abrupt lockdown.
The China World Trade Center, which includes offices and commercial spaces, will remain closed until Sunday.
And the Beijing subway announced on Wednesday that 45 stations, representing 14% of the network, were closed.
In the statement made, it was stated that “Entrances and exits from the stations will remain closed (…) but transfers can be made within the stations”.
In addition to Beijing, the central city of Zhengzhou has also stepped up checks to fight Covid, with residents of the main part of the city being forced to stay in residential complexes.
Shanghai, where weeks of quarantine has drawn criticism against the public administration and the authorities’ overzealous efforts, is facing problems in supplying closed residents and caring for patients with non-covid-related problems.
Hundreds of people, mostly unvaccinated elderly people, died in the city of 25 million.
source: Noticias
