Beijing’s Covid-19 cases remain elevated

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Beijing recorded more than 50 Covid-19 cases for the fifth day in a row as the authorities crack down on venues linked to the outbreak, including starting a criminal probe into management of a bar at the center of the latest flare-up.

The Chinese capital reported 63 infections for Tuesday (June 14), following 74 on Monday. Cases have spiked in recent days, having dropped to single-digits last week.

The management of a bar that has been linked to at least 287 cases is under criminal investigation for potentially breaching Covid-19 control and prevention protocols.

Shops and restaurants in the Sanlitun area of the Chaoyang district in eastern Beijing, where the bar is located, have been closed since Monday.

With daily cases remaining high, the authorities may be prompted to delay Thursday’s planned reopening.

At least two shopping malls in Chaoyang were also temporarily shut as infected people appear to have visited restaurants there.

The jump in cases and reinstatement of restrictions just days after they started to be eased shows the difficulties of stamping out the more contagious virus variants, as China continues to execute its Covid-zero strategy.

Shanghai reported 15 cases for Tuesday, from 17 on Monday. Three of the infections were found outside government-mandated quarantine as the virus continues to percolate in the community.

The city’s Songjiang district will conduct another round of mass testing on Wednesday.

While cases in the country’s two biggest cities are still below levels seen in late May, when stricter curbs were in place, the authorities have been quick to reimpose limitations after earlier trumpeting their success in bringing the outbreak under control.

In Beijing, most schools delayed a reopening that was planned for Monday, while all sports competitions were halted.

The authorities earlier this week closed more bars, movie theaters, gyms and other venues deemed to be “potential magnifiers” of the outbreak.

The bar where many of the latest cases were traced to will be stripped of its business license for failing to follow Covid-19 control rules, the Beijing Daily reported on Tuesday.

In a sign of the strict approach that China is taking with the virus, a court in the north-western city of Xining sentenced one person to three years in prison and punished two others for breaking infectious disease prevention laws after they returned from Shanghai in late March.

 

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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