Spike in Covid-19 infections in Beijing cause alarm, spark greater curbs

City officials announced that Beijing was going into "emergency mode" and have implemented escalating controls over the last few days. - AFP

BEIJING (The Straits Times/ANN): The Chinese capital of Beijing in the past two weeks has been edging towards a state of alarm, as a flurry of Covid-19 cases in the city sparked mass testing, lockdowns of some residential areas, and caused mass gatherings and performances to be cancelled.

Some 18 locally transmitted cases, the first domestic infections in Beijing in over 150 days, have been detected since Dec 14.