Streets deserted, pharmacies overcrowded as Beijing battles a sudden surge in Covid cases
China beijing covid
As China moves towards living with Covid and loosens up its strict Zero-covid regulations, Beijing has witnessed a sudden and dramatic explosion in its daily coronavirus numbers.
The city has reported a significant uptick in the spread of the SARS-CoV-2-causing COVID-19 virus infection, which as per CNN is a first since the pandemic began.
Watch |China Covid: Xi administration gradually dismantles Zero-Covid policy
Across China, and especially in Beijing empty streets, and deserted shopping centres have become the new normal as people stay at home to avoid being infected.
CNN reports that in the upmarket shopping district Sanlitun the usually bustling shops and restaurants were without customers and in some cases getting by via their takeout services and working with skeleton crews.
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The only crowds are in and around pharmacies. As per Reuters, the city's residents are clamouring to stock up on medicines. The demand for medicines has undergone a sudden spike as people worry about the risk of infection.
On Wednesday, China reported 2,000 new symptomatic COVID-19 infections, on Tuesday this number stood at 2,291. However, given the absence of mass testing official figures have become an unreliable guide.
China's Health Commission on Wednesday admitted that the numbers no longer reflect the reality and that it was impossible to "accurately grasp" the actual number of infected people as "many asymptomatic people are no longer participating in nucleic acid testing". The agency further said that due to this it will stop reporting new asymptomatic COVID-19 infections.
(With inputs from agencies)
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