BEIJING, May 9, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Millions of people in Beijing stayed home

on Monday as China's capital tries to fend off a Covid-19 outbreak with
creeping restrictions on movement.

  Beijing residents fear they may soon find themselves in the grip of the
same draconian measures that have trapped most of Shanghai's 25 million
people at home for several weeks.

  Officials there have said the eastern powerhouse city is winning its battle
against China's worst outbreak since the pandemic began.

  Yet the Shanghai lockdown has intensified, causing outrage and rare protest
in the last major economy still glued to a zero-Covid policy.

  In Beijing, subway stations and offices were empty during rush hour Monday
morning across Chaoyang -- the city's most populous district -- after
officials stepped up a work-from-home order on Sunday over rising Covid
cases.

  Non-essential businesses in the district, home to 3.5 million people, were
shuttered, with even the Apple store in the popular Sanlitun shopping area
ordered to close after opening briefly in the morning.

  "I feel very uncomfortable seeing so few people around," Wang, a middle-
aged cleaner waiting outside a restaurant for her shift to start, told AFP.

  Beijing has reported hundreds of infections in recent weeks, with 49 new
Covid-19 infections confirmed on Monday, a relatively tiny number but enough
to stir restrictions in the political heart of the country.

  Shanghai has borne the brunt of the country's Omicron surge, with more than
500 deaths, according to official numbers.

  The financial hub has ordered multi-day curfews for residents of multiple
neighbourhoods, according to notices seen by AFP, even as daily case numbers
have dwindled into the low thousands.

  Anger has seethed online at the perceived bungling of virus controls, mixed
messaging and heavy-handedness of Shanghai officials, including sweeping
people with negative Covid tests into state quarantine and leaving entire
neighbourhoods short of food.

  The frustration has also hit the streets - in a country where protest is
rare and swiftly snuffed out by authorities.

  Authorities have confirmed the veracity of a video that ripped across
social media over the weekend showing residents in Zhuanqiao Town clashing
with hazmat-suited health authorities over food shortages.

  "Police took action as soon as possible to persuade onlookers to disperse
and calm the situation down," a statement by the Zhuanqiao Town Covid
response team said Sunday.

  "According to an on-site investigation, the troublemakers had sufficient
supplies at home."

  Residents of the neighbourhoods hit by new curfews -- including some areas
previously declared lower-risk -- have been ordered not to step out of their
apartments except for PCR tests for as long as a week and forbidden from
ordering "non-essential" deliveries, according to the notices.