TIL Desk/World/Beijing/ As the situation in Shanghai threatens to spiral out of control in its battle against Covid-19, Chinas capital Beijing has been hit by a surge in infections with alarmed residents lining up at supermarkets and provision stores struggling to control crowds as people try to stock up to prevent Shanghai-type shortages.
Though the media focus shifted from Shanghai to Beijing, there was nothing to point at a let up in the cases in China’s financial capital. The hub of international trade and major port has been found grappling on several fronts in echoes of the early days of the epidemic when Wuhan became the epicentre of the affliction.
Social media posts put out by Shanghai residents suffering under weeks of lockdown and food shortages have come under attack by overzealous Chinese censors who want to send a message of “normalcy” amid an undercurrent of tension among citizens, sources in the city said. Shanghai health official told a press briefing that the pandemic is still developing at a “high level” as the city of 25 million recorded more than 2,000 fresh cases and over 39 new deaths.
