The nearly 200 outbreak was linked to downtown Heaven Supermarket Bar – which just reopened as restrictions in the Chinese capital eased last week. He emphasized how difficult it would be for China to achieve its “zero COVID” policy, as most countries have decided to learn how to live with the virus. The resurgence of COVID-19 infections also raises new concerns about the prospects for the world’s second largest economy. It also comes as Shanghai – China’s most populous city – has just emerged from a two-month lockdown in a bid to curb the virus. In Beijing, restaurant food service resumed last week after more than a month of coronavirus measures in the city of 22 million. The Heaven Supermarket Bar was one of the places that quickly gained its popularity among the young, noisy crowd following the strict measures. The bar, where customers check the aisles for everything from local spirits to Belgian beer, is known for its empty bottled tables and for people who fall asleep on the couches after midnight. With nearly 200 COVID cases linked to the bar since June 9, authorities described the outbreak as “wild” and “explosive”. A resident, Cao, who runs a convenience store in Beijing’s largest Chaoyang district, where the bar complex was discovered, said: “We have to test every day now. It’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s necessary.” “The virus situation has hurt our business a little bit, it has been reduced by about 20 to 30%. Many venues were closed during Beijing’s lockdown, including shopping malls and gyms, and parts of the city’s public transportation system were suspended, with millions of people being called to work from home. Following the outbreak of the bar in Chaoyang, authorities launched a three-day mass testing campaign among its approximately 3.5 million residents on Monday. Approximately 10,000 close contacts of bar patrons have been identified and their residential buildings have been put under lockdown. Some scheduled reopening of schools in the area has been postponed due to the epidemic. Image: People queue for nucleic acid tests at a mobile test chamber in Beijing Test sites in the city saw long queues for more than 100 meters, according to eyewitnesses. Several homes have been blocked by large metal dams, with people in suits spraying disinfectant nearby. State support for the Beijing Evening News wrote in a commentary that the bar complex was caused by gaps and complacency in preventing the epidemic. “At a time when … normalcy is being restored in the city, the fall of the Heaven Supermarket Bar means that the suffering and effort of countless people was in vain,” the newspaper wrote. If the outbreak grows, “the consequences could be serious and such that no one would want to see,” he added. As Beijing authorities dealt with new COVID cases in April, retail sales in the capital fell 16% year-on-year, while real estate sales fell 25%. The data for May, which will be announced later this month, is also expected to be tragic. Before the bar cases, there were high hopes for rebounds in June.
