Dozens of subway stations in Beijing have been closed due to movement restrictions due to the corona pandemic.

The closures will affect around 40 stops in the Chinese capital – i.e. around a tenth of the Beijing subway network – the subway operator said on Wednesday in the Wechat chat service.

The entrances and exits of these stations would be closed, but the underground stations would not be closed to the passage of underground trains.

"I think the city is already in a semi-closed state," said a Beijing resident whose residential complex was sealed off in the course of the fight against Corona and who did not want to be named, the AFP news agency.

"There is no timetable for when our lockdown should be lifted, and more places will be sealed off." The people of Beijing fear further tightening of the corona restrictions.

Many residents of the capital have already stocked up on supplies for a possible lockdown.

Some residential complexes in Beijing have already been sealed off.

Corona restrictions have been tightened at many tourist attractions.

Food may no longer be served in restaurants in the capital.

In the densely populated district of Chaoyang, mass corona tests have been underway among the population since Tuesday.

Restrictions dampen growth

China is currently struggling with its worst corona outbreak since the pandemic began about two years ago.

From the city of Beijing, which has a population of 21 million, only 51 new infections were reported within 24 hours on Wednesday, five of them without symptoms.

In Shanghai, meanwhile, there is no end in sight to the lockdown.

Even after more than a month, most people in China's largest city and the country's financial center are still not allowed to leave their housing developments.

Some of Shanghai's 25 million residents have benefited from a cautious relaxation of security measures since Sunday, with typically only one household member allowed outside for a short walk, some fresh air and a little grocery shopping.

Shanghai recorded almost 5,000 new cases in one day.

The fast-spreading omicron variant has put China's zero-Covid policy to the test.

The strict and increasingly controversial course is burdening many companies, disrupting supply chains and endangering jobs.

Fitch analysts lowered their growth forecast for 2022 to 4.3 percent from 4.8 percent, well below China's official target of 5.5 percent.

344 ships were waiting for a berth at the port of Shanghai, up 34 percent from last month.

Shipping goods from a warehouse in China to one in the United States takes 74 days longer than usual.