World News: As Beijing’s COVID tightens curbs, hard-hit Shanghai sees signs of life – Gulf Digital News

World News: As Beijing’s COVID tightens curbs, hard-hit Shanghai sees signs of life – Gulf Digital News

China's capital Beijing tightened Covid restrictions on Sunday as it battled an outbreak, while Shanghai let some of its 25 million residents venture out for light and air after reporting a second day of zero infections outside of quarantine areas.

Shanghai's outbreak, which began in March, has been China's worst since the early months of the pandemic in 2020. Hundreds of thousands have been infected and the city has forbidden residents from leaving their homes, to great public anger.

The outbreak in China's most populous city and the risk of a spread in Beijing are testing the government's zero-Covid approach in a year when Xi Jinping is expected to secure an unprecedented third term as president.

Beijing, with dozens of daily infections in an outbreak now in its 10th day, has not locked down. More than 300 locally transmitted cases have been logged since April 22.

But on Sunday the capital tightened social distancing rules and launched a fresh round of mass testing in its most populous and worst-hit district.

In the past week the city of 22 million has conducted mass testing in most of its 16 districts, suspended all entertainment venues, and banned restaurant dining.

"The impact of all this on us is too