The Chinese capital, Beijing, has launched a COVID-19 testing drive for most of its 21 million people as authorities raced to contain a growing coronavirus outbreak and avert a city-wide lockdown.

Beijing reported 33 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, bringing the total number of infections found in the capital to 80 since Friday. The numbers are minuscule, but authorities – who follow a zero-COVID policy – are anxious to avoid the kind of spiralling outbreak that has plunged the commercial hub of Shanghai into a strict lockdown for weeks.

Residents in the southern city – which recorded 1,600 new cases and 52 deaths on Tuesday – have become increasingly frustrated with the authorities’ inability to meet their basic needs during the shutdown.