China expanded coronavirus testing to most of Beijing as rising cases fuel fears about an unprecedented lockdown of the capital. Officials on Monday night said testing would take place in another 11 of Beijing’s 16 districts, moving beyond just Chaoyang, where most of the infections have been detected since Friday. The city of more than 20 million people has already locked down parts of the eastern district of Chaoyang, home to 3.5 million people, with plans to ease restrictions after residents complete a testing regimen on April 27. Officials on Monday night said testing would take place in another 11 of Beijing’s 16 districts, moving beyond just Chaoyang, where most of the infections have been detected since Friday. In addition to the expanded testing, the government also urged companies to encourage employees to work from home and suspend meetings, live performances and other large gatherings.
The bad news from Beijing added to new bad news from a locked down Shanghai. Shanghai reported 19,455 new cases on Sunday. Over the weekend, the government installed fences in some neighborhoods to seal buildings where positive cases have been found.
On the news (and the fears) the yuan has taken a drubbing with the off-shore yuan falling to its lowest level in 17 months. The Shanghai Composite fell 1.44% today for a drop of 10.34% in the last month The Shenzhen Composite ended down 2.11% for a decline of 17.1% in the last month.
