Subway stations close in Beijing as country tightens COVID-19 restrictions

China’s capital city Beijing confirmed 51 new Covid-19 infections, which is a low number compared the approximate 20 million tests that were conducted, state media reported on Wednesday.

The city’s subway operator announced the closure of about 40 stations Wednesday, which is around 12 percent of the network, many of them near locked down areas, according to an announcement on its WeChat page. “The entrances and exits of stations will be closed… but transfers can be done within the stations,” the notice said.

“I think the city is already in a semi-closed state,” said one Beijing resident in a sealed compound who declined to be identified. “There is no timetable for when our lockdown will be lifted, and more places are being sealed,” he told AFP, saying freedoms were increasingly being limited.

Another Beijinger, aged 35, said he was buying groceries online to avoid contact with people at supermarkets. “No one can really tell how long the restrictions will last… but I understand the reasoning,” he said.

Beijing’s heavily populated Chaoyang district started another round of mass testing, which is due to end on Thursday. The China World Trade Center, which is an office and shopping complex, has also been temporarily closed this week.