China: Parts of Beijing under lockdown again as COVID-19 outbreak continues

Beijing: Reeling under the mismanagement of Xi Jinping's Zero-Covid Policy, parts of Beijing have again come under a lockdown on Sunday, as the pandemic outbreak continues to spread in more and more cities in China.

The authorities have imposed a lockdown in the Haidian district along with Chaoyang, Fengtai, Shunyi, and Fangshan districts, China`s Global Times reported citing a statement of the city government`s spokesperson, Xu in Hejian.

As per the Chinese media reports, except for restaurants offering delivery services and pharmacies, all indoor entertainment venues, gyms, training institutes, and shopping malls have been closed from today. All graded scenic points in the capital city will be suspended, and at the same time, all parks should cap visits to 30 per cent of capacity, Global Times reported citing Xu Hejian`s statement.

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The residents across five districts in Beijing have been asked to work from home until May 28 as the domestically-transmitted COVID-19 situation remains uncertain. While explaining the reasons for the rise in sporadic cases, Xu said that the COVID-19 situation has been complicated by the highly-contagious Omicron with most patients only presenting mild symptoms.

He also said that the negligence of the people towards the Covid-19 precautionary norms has also contributed to the clustered outbreak which intensifies the transmission risk of the infection, Global Times reported. According to the National Health Commission report today, China on Saturday reported 157 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which Beijing reported 52 new confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 9 local asymptomatic cases.

China`s much-publicized `zero-covid` strategy that the government credited for bringing the country out of the pandemic till recently is falling apart as the rapidly mounting cases are again forcing mass lockdowns like those seen in 2020. 

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