Beijing, China: Beijing still fighting with novel coronavirus, the cases in the city and neighbouring town are increasing rapidly.
Beijing is preparing to construct makeshift hospitals to cope with the latest upsurge of the novel coronavirus, said a press conference Saturday.
So far, about 4,000 beds have been reserved for COVID-19 infections in Beijing, and more venues are being transformed into large-scale makeshift hospitals in case of need, said Li Ang, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission.
The latest classifications have brought the total number of high-risk areas in Beijing to six and medium-risk areas to 23, said a press conference on local epidemic prevention and control work, reported Xinhua.
Beijing reported 59 new locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and eight asymptomatic cases between 3 pm Friday and 3 pm Saturday.
According to Xinhua, a total of 295 local infections in 13 districts have been logged in the city since April 22.
The city’s poor handling of the country’s worst COVID-19 outbreak in two years has raised public distrust in the authorities and anger at the government.
Following the closure of non-essential activities and businesses in Beijing, panic buying has started.
The handling of the coronavirus situation in Beijing would be a major challenge for President Xi Jinping in the backdrop of continued insistence on a Zero Covid Policy by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) despite the large-scale disruption of normal life and economic activities across China.