Beijing Official: Testing To Be Expanded To Entire City 26-30 Apr

Bloomberg reporting that a Beijing city official has stated that COVID-19 testing will be expanded to the entire city (population approx.20mn) starting from 26-30 April.

• Comes as panic buying is recorded in the Chinese capital, with fears of a weeks-long ultra-strict lockdown being imposed in a similar scenario to that currently taking place in the megacity of Shanghai (population approx. 25mn).
• State-run Global Times reports: "health authorities just announced that the Chinese capital will launch nucleic acid testing in 11 more districts across the city from Tue. The city has reported 70 COVID-19 infections in 8 districts in the past 4 days."
• Simultaneous lockdowns in Shanghai and Beijing would likely see even greater supply-chain bottlenecks developing domestically as well as internationally, with freight and shipping badly affected.
• The lockdowns also have political consequences for the gov't. Shanghai's strict lockdown combined with widespread food shortages risks a public backlash against regional authorities.