RIGHT SPEAK: Beijing Is Back on High Alert After Covid Outbreak Traced to a Bar; Shanghai Orders Over Half Its Residents to Undergo Covid Testing as Resurgence Fears Rise, and other C-Virus related stories

Beijing Is Back on High Alert After Covid Outbreak Traced to a Bar:

A wild night of partying in Beijing has thrown a wrench into the city’s attempt to ease Covid-19 restrictions, barely days after restaurants and offices had reopened.

A sudden rise in coronavirus cases has led to several city districts shutting entertainment venues, with Universal Beijing Resort the highest-profile casualty. The resort said late Friday it would delay a reopening of its theme park that had been planned for June 15.

Beijing said that at least 29 residents had tested positive for the virus by Friday afternoon, up from only eight positive cases the day before. In a press conference, city officials said the recent outbreak centered around a bar in Beijing’s popular Sanlitun entertainment district, with 26 of the 29 new cases linked to the nightspot.

A person who tested positive on Thursday had dropped by the Heaven Supermarket Bar on Monday, officials said, as part of a jaunt around the area that included four other nightclubs. Authorities said 26 patients had visited the bar on Monday or Tuesday, and at least 4,000 people had since come into contact with them.

Universal Beijing Resort, one of the highest-profile U.S. entertainment investments in China, said in a post Friday evening on its official WeChat social-media account that it had received notice from government authorities and would be cooperating with Covid-control measures. The theme park, on the outskirts of Beijing, had closed on May 1 amid a rash of cases discovered in Beijing. Universal Parks & Resorts’ fifth park globally, it is 70% owned by Chinese state-owned companies, while Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal holds the remaining 30%. --->READ MORE HERE

Photo: ALY SONG/REUTERS

Shanghai Orders Over Half Its Residents to Undergo Covid Testing as Resurgence Fears Rise:

More than half of Shanghai’s 25 million residents will undergo Covid-19 testing this weekend, raising the prospect of extended periods of home confinement for any who test positive, a rude awakening that comes just one week after the city celebrated its emergence from a punishing monthslong lockdown.

On Thursday, Shanghai authorities ordered residents in at least seven of the city’s districts, with a combined population of 14 million, to undergo mass Covid-19 testing starting Saturday, according to state media reports. Authorities didn’t give details on how long the sampling period will last.

All residents will be placed under fengbi guanli, or “closed-off management,” until all samples have been collected, Zhao Dandan, a deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, said at a Thursday news conference. Authorities didn’t spell out the details of what closed-off management entails, but they have used similar terms in the past to refer to measures that include preventing residents from leaving their apartment units or their residential complexes.

“The risk of resurgence of the pandemic still exists,” Mr. Zhao told reporters. “We must not be slack to the slightest degree or let down our guard.” --->READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:

Travel industry hails US lifting of COVID testing rules: ‘Today is a great day’

White House outlines plans to vaccinate youngest children, pending FDA approval

USA TODAY: Coronavirus Updates

WSJ: Coronavirus Live Updates

YAHOO NEWS: Coronavirus Live Updates

NEW YORK POST: Coronavirus The Latest

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