Vikrant Shekhawat : Nov 12, 2021, 07:18 AM
Beijing: China Lockdown Latest News: Authorities in Beijing on Thursday sealed off a mall and locked down several residential compounds after sudden outbreak of coronavirus in the Chinese capital’s central districts. The COVID flare-up was reports months after China curbed widespread transmission of the virus through snap lockdowns, mass testing and travel restrictions. However, the authorities are now on high alert as a nationwide spike linked to domestic travel in the past month.The move comes as 6 new cases were detected in Beijing’s central districts of Chaoyang and Haidian Thursday morning.The authorities in Beijing have sealed off Raffles City mall in Dongcheng — also a central district in the capital, after a close contact of a person with Covid-19 was found to have visited the mall, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.The exit points of the shopping mall have been closed and all staff and customers inside were not allowed to leave until they got tested.Videos shared on social media platform Weibo showed crowds of shoppers in masks, lining up to be tested inside the shopping centre. The mall remained closed Thursday. The latest spike occurred during a high-level meeting of top Communist Party leaders in Beijing.In the meantime, the health officials in Beijing said more than 280 close contacts have been identified, with almost 12,000 people screened for the virus in both Chaoyang and Haidian districts.On the other hand, five residential communities, a primary school and two office compounds were also placed under lockdowns on Thursday and tens of thousands of residents barred from leaving and made to undergo mass testing.