(Yicai Global) Jan. 7 -- China’s East-Central Hebei province had reported 39 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 78 local asymptomatic cases as of the close of Jan. 5 for a total of 117 new cases within four days, according to data from the health commission in the South Dakota-sized province that surrounds Beijing.

Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital, launched mass nucleic acid tests of all residents yesterday. City streets were bare of pedestrians and major storefronts were shuttered on the first day of testing.

The city is implementing closed-loop controls over all communities and rural areas even as it seeks to ensure supplies and stable prices of daily staples like grain, oil, meat, vegetables, poultry, eggs and milk.

People queue up for testing in a residential community in the city some 300 kilometers west of Beijing.

Locals have samples collected by pandemic prevention workers in groups of 10 after registering their personal information.

Residents barred from venturing outside their community do their exercises within their compound.

Several delivery platforms have indicated that many restaurants, supermarkets and online stores are closed. "Goods are sold out," some convenience stores advised. Several online stores were also not operating, advising, "No delivery riders are available to pick up orders." An owner of a roast duck restaurant said that he was awaiting nucleic acid testing and was temporarily unable to go out.

Residents could only buy groceries over a fence at their neighborhood gate. Sellers were mostly owners of surrounding groceries. Outside the fence, vegetables, fruits, meat and other goods lay set on the ground. Prices have not yet risen sharply.

Vegetables and fruits were almost all snapped up, with shelves bare. A local shop owner said that he will vend his wares gate-to-gate these days, but goods supplies are uncertain if the outbreak goes on for long, saying "Items are almost sold out from my shop."

Editor: Ben Armour, Xiao Yi