Beijing districts placed under lockdown as cases mount

BEIJING (AP) — China’s capital Beijing has begun mass testing and shutting down residential and business districts amid a new outbreak of COVID-19. More than 40 cases have been found in the city of more than 21 million since the outbreak surfaced Friday. Residents were staying home and stocking up on food as a safeguard against the possibility that they could be confined to their homes, as has happened in multiple cities including the financial hub of Shanghai. The central city of Anyang along with Dandong on the border with North Korea announced lockdowns as the omicron variant spread through China. The country’s borders remain largely closed as the pandemic’s economic impact and China’s hardline response continue to grow.