Beijing districts placed under lockdown as COVID cases mount

BEIJING (AP) — China’s capital Beijing is mass testing and shutting down residential and business districts amid a new outbreak of COVID-19. So far, 70 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. Shanghai has been locked down for more than two weeks. The city reported 51 deaths in the latest 24-hour period, topping 100 deaths from the ongoing outbreak. The country’s borders remain largely closed as the pandemic’s economic impact and China’s hardline response continue to grow.