The Chinese capital Beijing is experiencing an “explosive” outbreak of covid-19 related to a bar, a government spokesman said on Saturday, as the commercial center, Shanghai, promotes mass tests to contain the advance in cases linked to a salon. hairdresser.
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“The recent outbreak is of a highly explosive nature and widespread in scope,” Xu Hejian, a spokesman for the Beijing municipal government, told a news conference.
The alert followed a further tightening of Covid-19 restrictions in Beijing, in place since Thursday, with at least two districts ordering the closure of some entertainment venues, following an outbreak in a neighborhood known for its nightlife, shopping and embassies.
Although China’s infection rate is low by global standards, the government maintains its zero-tolerance policy for covid-19, on the grounds of protecting the elderly and the medical system, even as other countries try to live with the virus.
So far, the country of 1.4 billion has recorded 5,226 deaths from the new coronavirus.
