fearing a confinement like in Shanghai, the inhabitants of Beijing are stocking up on food

In Beijing’s large Shengfu market, almost everyone has heard of the distressed Shanghai families looking for food. After 15 days of total confinement linked to the Covid-19 epidemic, the fridges are empty and some Shanghai residents have nothing left to eat.

In Beijing, the situation is different, the capital is not confined. This week less than a dozen positive cases of Covid-19 have been recorded, compared to more than 20,000 daily cases in Shanghai. But the situation in the economic capital is scaring the rest of China, and in Beijing the inhabitants prefer to anticipate and prepare for possible confinement in the coming days or weeks. They therefore undertook to make large stocks of food.

At the exit of the market the bags are well filled. A consumer explains:My friends, my neighbors, everyone stocked vermicelli and Chinese noodles. It can be kept for a long time. And everyone also bought 2.5 kg bags of rice and 5 kg of wheat. It’s stored at home.”

“I have enough supplies at home. If there is an epidemic, I have enough to last one or two months, no worries.”

a consumer

at franceinfo

In particular, meat purchases have increased significantly. In butcher shops, traders are noticing the change: “Almost everyone who comes here buys more, an average of 140 euros for pork. People take the meat away in big bags to store. They ask for it to be cut into small pieces to put in the freezer..”

The authorities want to be reassuring, explaining that they have taken all the necessary measures to guarantee the supply of the capital in foodstuffs and basic necessities. Trucks carrying foodstuffs have been granted traffic facilitation, unlike all other vehicles arriving in Beijing, which are subject to severe health restrictions.