Beijing to Mass Test All Residents, Some Work from Home!

Source: NPR

Beijing will conduct mass testing of most of its 21 million people, authorities announced Monday, as a new COVID-19 outbreak sparked stockpiling of food by residents worried about the possibility of a Shanghai-style lockdown.

The Chinese capital began mass testing people in one of its 16 districts where most of the new cases have been found. The city also imposed lockdowns on individual residential buildings and one section of the city. Late in the day, health officials said the testing would be expanded Tuesday to all but five outlying districts.

While only 70 cases have been found since the outbreak surfaced Friday, authorities have rolled out strict measures under China's "zero-COVID" approach to try to prevent a further spread of the virus.

Some residents worked from home and many stocked up on food as a safeguard against the possibility that they could be confined indoors, as has happened in multiple cities, including the financial hub of Shanghai.