Beijing warns of 'explosive' COVID-19 outbreak as Shanghai begins mass testing

While China's infection rate is low by global standards, President Xi Jinping has doubled down on a zero-COVID policy

China's capital Beijing is facing an "explosive" COVID-19 outbreak connected to a bar, a government spokesman warned on Saturday, as the commercial hub of Shanghai began mass testing to contain a jump in cases tied to a popular beauty salon.

The warning followed a renewed tightening of COVID curbs in Beijing since Thursday, with at least two districts - including its most populous, Chaoyang — closing certain entertainment venues after a flare-up in a busy neighbourhood known for its nightlife, shopping and streets of embassies.

While China's infection rate is low by global standards, President Xi Jinping has doubled down on a zero-COVID policy that authorities say is needed to protect the elderly and the medical system, even as other countries try to live with the virus.

So far the country of 1.4 billion has seen a total of just 5,226 fatalities.

The latest cases in Beijing were linked to a drinking establishment known as Heaven Supermarket Bar. Infections have since surged, with Beijing saying on Saturday that all of the 61 new cases uncovered in the city on Friday had either visited the bar or had links to it.

"The recent outbreak of cases related to Heaven Supermarket Bar is strongly explosive in nature and widespread in scope, and the composition of the individuals involved is also complex," Xu Hejian, spokesman of the Beijing municipal government, said at a news briefing.

The capital reported 46 new local COVID cases on Saturday as of 1230 IMT, health official Liu Xiaofeng told the same briefing. All cases were discovered among individuals already in isolation or under observation, Mr. Liu said. The city did not announce new curbs at the briefing.