Beijing supermarkets are doubling their inventory as residents stockpile groceries in anticipation of tightened COVID-19 control measures.

The capital city is experiencing a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, most of which are currently in Chaoyang District. Beijing authorities ordered mass testing for all people who live and work in the district and imposed different degrees of closed-off management on more than two dozen residential areas to contain the spread of the disease.

Beijing has a total of 41 COVID-19 cases as of Sunday afternoon. Local authorities said on Saturday that preliminary evidence indicated that the virus had been spreading in the city for a week. 

Wumart, a major supermarket chain in China, has increased its inventory by 1.5-2 times its daily sales volume to ensure sufficient supply of daily necessities such as meat, eggs and vegetables, Beijing News reported. Carrefour told the local newspaper that it will increase the purchase of goods by more than three times the usual volume.

Beijing News added that grocery delivery apps such as Hema Fresh, Dingdong and Missfresh have increased their stock of daily necessities by 1.5-3 times the previous amount.

Zhao Weidong, deputy director of Beijing's Municipal Bureau of Commerce, assured the public that the supply of daily necessities in local markets is sufficient enough to meet normal transactions.

The dispatch and transportation of produce climbed 9.1 percent on Monday compared with a day earlier, with 22,700 tonnes of vegetables being distributed, said Zhao. The supply of meat, eggs, grain and oil is stable, he added.

Chaoyang has a population of 3.5 million and is the biggest district in downtown Beijing. Headquarters of many multinational firms and embassies are located in the district.