Double outbreak in China’s top 2 cities

Notably, the number of announced deaths is 51, the highest since the beginning of the outbreak due to Omicron, bringing the total number of deaths here to 138 in just a few days.

Meanwhile, in Beijing, people rushed to buy food and other essential items fearing the city would be under a blockade like Shanghai, after the Chinese capital’s largest districts began to reopen. conducting large-scale testing from April 24. According to Reuters, authorities in Chaoyang, a large district of Beijing with 3.45 million people, have ordered everyone to be tested three times this week. A local health official said that since April 22, Beijing has reported 70 cases of Covid-19 in 8/16 counties, of which Chaoyang has 46 cases.

Large-scale Covid-19 testing in Beijing on April 25 Photo: REUTERS

CNBC reported that some apartments in Beijing have been blocked. Schools are still open, but Trieu Duong commercial area has stopped all group activities and art and sports courses… Many entertainment venues, restaurants, non-essential businesses… in this district also closed on the morning of April 25. Authorities advise residents to work from home.

More economic activities are affected in China. According to Al Jazeera radio, a subsidiary of Foxconn Group – a supplier of components to Apple – has closed two factories in Kunshan, Jiangsu province from April 20, after detecting a number of Covid-19 cases. 19. As news of Beijing’s possible lockdown spread, global stock markets were dyed red and the yuan plunged. According to CNBC, China’s Shenzhen component and Shanghai composite indexes led the way in declines in the Asia-Pacific market on April 25, down 6.08% and 5.13%, respectively. The Hang Seng (Hong Kong – China), Nikkei (Japan), Kospi (Korea)… also fell. On the same day, crude oil futures prices all dropped, WTI was at $98.20/barrel and Brent was at $102.60/barrel.