Covid surge in Beijing triggers panic buying, lockdown-like restrictions

The case increase, which has escalated from under 100 infections a day a fortnight ago, is leading to stepped-up controls in Beijing, a city of 22 million

Supermarket delivery apps in Beijing are being overwhelmed as the city’s rising Covid caseload triggers lockdown-like restrictions in swathes of the Chinese capital.
 

Beijing saw 1,854 new infections Thursday, up from 1,611 on Wednesday, as China’s wider outbreak reaches record levels. Delivery apps like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s Freshippo -- known as Hema in Chinese -- and Walmart Inc’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