Beijing saw 1,854 new infections on Thursday, up from 1,611 on Wednesday, as China’s wider outbreak reacheslevels. Delivery apps like Alibaba Group Holding’s Freshippo – known as Hema in Chinese – and Walmart’s Sam’s Club were running out of capacity to deliver on Thursday, and other grocery outlets in Chaoyang, Beijing’s biggest district, were no longer taking orders.
The case increase, which has escalated from under 100 infections a day a fortnight ago is leading to stepped-up controls in the city of 22 million, with apartment blocks across Chaoyang being locked down and residents asked not to leave Beijing unless necessary. Yet officials are going about the restrictions in a quieter way, communicating through neighbourhood committees and WeChat groups rather than with official announcements, potentially to downplay the disruption caused after China’s top leaders ordered a more targeted approach to