COVID-hit Beijing increases curbs, fears Shanghai-like misery

Commuters wearing face masks wait at a bus station amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Beijing, China April 28, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

BEIJING (Reuters) -The Chinese capital of Beijing closed some public spaces and stepped up checks at others on Thursday, as most of the city's 22 million residents embarked on more COVID-19 mass testing aimed at averting a Shanghai-like lockdown.

As Beijing rolled out three rounds of mass testing this week across a number of districts, it locked down a number of residential compounds, office blocks and a university after infections were found. Some schools, entertainment venues and tourist sites were also shut.