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The capital of China, Beijing, is launching tests for Covid in the business district

The capital of China, Beijing, reported a jump in Covid cases over the weekend and began mass tests Monday in the Chaoyang business district. Within the area, a community depicted here is classified as a high risk area.

Jiang Qiming | Chinese News Service Getty Images

BEIJING – The capital of China, Beijing, warned over the weekend that Covid had spread unnoticed in the city for a week and that more cases would be investigated.

Chaoyang’s main business district began three days of mass testing on Monday for anyone living or working in the region, which is home to many embassies and foreign companies. The district represents most of Covid’s 42 new cases reported in Beijing on Friday.

Only certain residential buildings are locked in Beijing. Schools remain largely open, but the Chaoyang Business District has ordered all personal group activities and training courses, including arts and sports, to be stopped.

The increase in cases in Beijing comes when mainland China faces its worst Covid epidemic since early 2020. The country adheres to a strict zero Covid policy of using rapid blockades, quarantines and travel restrictions to control outbreaks of the virus.

Most of Shanghai, China’s largest city, remains under prolonged blockade and reported more than 100 new Covid-related deaths since Friday.

Shanghai is by far the most Covid case in the country, with more than 2,400 symptoms on Sunday and more than 16,900 without.

Beijing and Shanghai are among the ten largest provincial regions in China in terms of GDP, according to Wind Information. The data shows that Beijing’s economy grew by 4.8% in the first quarter, the same as the national level, while Shanghai’s economy grew by 3.1% as targeted blockades rose in March.

Service workers affected by the latest round of cases in Beijing’s Chaoyang Business District could receive 100 yuan ($ 15.38) a day for a maximum of 21 days, municipal officials said.

Anecdotally, news of the jump in cases and mass tests have prompted locals to rush to stock up on food.