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Authorities in China’s capital Beijing hurried to curb a COVID-19 epidemic linked to a rowdy 24-hour bar notorious for cheap whiskey and large crowds on Monday, with millions subjected to obligatory testing and thousands subjected to targeted lockdowns.
The outbreak of nearly 200 cases linked to the city centre Heaven Supermarket Bar, which had just reopened as Beijing curbs eased last week, highlights how difficult it will be for China to make a success of its “zero COVID” policy as the rest of the world chooses to learn how to live with the virus.
The resurgence of COVID-19 infections is also creating new concerns about the world’s second-largest economy’s prospects. China is still reeling from the two-month shutdown of Shanghai, its most populated metropolis and commercial nerve centre, which also shook global supply networks.
Dine-in service at Beijing restaurants resumed on June 6 after the city of 22 million people applied various COVID-19 limits for more than a month. Many malls, gyms, and other venues were closed, and elements of the city’s public transportation system were suspended. Millions of people were encouraged to work from home.
“We must now test on a daily basis. It’s inconvenient, but necessary “said Cao, a 21-year-old resident of Beijing’s largest district Chaoyang, where the bar cluster was discovered. “The viral crisis has taken a toll on our business; it’s down roughly 20-30%.”
On Monday, Chaoyang began a three-day mass testing programme among its about 3.5 million citizens. About 10,000 of the bar’s clientele’ close contacts have been identified, and their apartment structures have been placed under lockdown, as have certain planned school reopenings in the district.
According to Reuters’ eyewitnesses, queues snaked around several testing stations for more than 100 metres on Monday. Large metal barricades have been erected around many residential compounds, and individuals in hazardous suits have been spraying disinfectant nearby.
‘In Vain’
Heaven Supermarket Bar, modelled as a gigantic self-service booze shop with chairs, sofas, and tables, restored its popularity among young, rowdy audiences hungry of socialising and partying during Beijing’s COVID-19 restrictions last week, as dine-in bans were relaxed.
The pub, where customers peruse the aisles for anything from local heavy spirits to Belgian beer, is famous among Beijing revellers for its tables covered in empty bottles and customers dozing off on sofas after midnight.
With around 200 COVID-19 cases linked to the bar since June 9, authorities have labelled the outbreak as “ferocious” and “explosive,” with sick people living or working in 14 of the capital’s 16 districts.
Officials have not remarked on the specific reason of the epidemic, nor have they explained why the level of curbs seen last month has not yet been reinstated.
The bar cluster was produced by gaps and complacency in epidemic prevention, according to an editorial piece published on Monday by the state-backed Beijing Evening News.
“At a time when… normalcy in the city is being restored,” the newspaper noted, “the fall of Heaven Supermarket Bar means that the hardship and sacrifice of countless individuals has been in vain.”
If the outbreak spreads, the “consequences might be devastating, and would be such that nobody would want to see,” according to the report.
Getting stuck in ‘Paradise’
Heaven Supermarket Bar and other surrounding businesses, including the Paradise Massage & Spa, were cordoned off, with police tape and security guards barricading the entrances.
Authorities said a few customers and employees at the parlour would be briefly kept in for checks.
In total, Beijing reported 51 instances on Sunday, compared to 65 the previous day, reflecting a countrywide trend of decreasing cases.
Shanghai, which finished mass testing for the majority of its 25 million citizens over the weekend after lifting its lockdown and many of its limits at the beginning of the month, recorded 37 instances, up from 29.
In April, as Beijing authorities dealt with fresh COVID-19 cases, retail sales in the city fell 16 percent year on year, while property sales fell 25 percent. The data for May, which is anticipated later this month, is also predicted to be dismal.
Prior to the bar cases, there had been strong prospects for a resurgence in June.
