Beijing closes down mall, several housing compounds amid fresh Covid flare-up

Authorities in Beijing closed a mall and locked down several residential compounds after a spurt of Covid cases were reported from Chinese capital’s central districts.

Six new cases were found in Beijing's central districts of Chaoyang and Haidian on Thursday morning, local media reported.

According to reports, the six cases were close contacts of people infected recently in northeastern Jilin province.

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Raffles City mall in Dongcheng in the capital was sealed off on Wednesday evening after a close contact of a person infected with COVID-19 was found to have visited the mall, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Videos shared on social media platform Weibo showed crowds of shoppers in masks, lining up to be tested inside the shopping centre.

The Chinese authorities have been pursuing a zero-Covid policy, aiming to suppress cases whenever they arise with tough measures including limitations on movement. Notably, Beijing will also host the Winter Olympicsin February.

The latest spike occurred amid high-level meeting of top Communist Party leaders in Beijing.

Beijing health officials said at a briefing that over 280 close contacts have been identified, with almost 12,000 people screened for the virus in both Chaoyang and Haidian districts.

“This cluster outbreak was sudden with many places covering a large area. It involves many people, and prevention and control is very difficult,” said city government spokesman Xu Hejian.

“Today is a crucial day... and it is necessary to trace the source of the outbreak as soon as possible.”

Five residential communities, a primary school and two office compounds were placed under snap lockdowns early on Thursday, with tens of thousands of residents barred from leaving and made to undergo mass testing.

As of November 10, mainland China had reported 98,001 COVID-19 cases with confirmed symptoms, including locally transmitted cases and those who arrived from abroad, and 4,636 deaths in total.

(With inputs from agencies)