COVID-19 cases continue to climb in Beijing

Beijing is still facing an upward trend in its outbreak, with the number of infections remaining at a high level as the city recorded more than 2,000 cases each on Friday and Saturday, a record high since 2020.

"The authority will accelerate the speed of identifying positive cases and ensure daily supplies for residents," city spokesman Xu Hejian said at a news conference on Saturday evening.

The capital recorded 2,454 new infections between midnight and 3 pm on Saturday, with 2,083 of them asymptomatic carriers, according to Liu Xiaofeng, deputy director of the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

Among the total infections, 428 were detected at the community level.

On Friday, Beijing reported 586 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 2,009 asymptomatic carriers.

Beijing has asked every district to make their own plans for epidemic control measures according to their situation and make adjustments dynamically.

Chaoyang, the hardest-hit district during the ongoing outbreak in the capital, reported 315 new infections between midnight and 3 pm on Saturday, among which 68 were found at community level.

Yang Beibei, deputy head of Chaoyang district, said if residential communities in high-risk areas in Chaoyang report zero new infections for five successive days, and all the residents' nucleic acid tests results are negative on the fifth day, the communities will be lifted from control measures and designated as low-risk areas.

Between midnight and noon on Saturday, 36 high-risk areas were unsealed.

Beijing is taking multiple measures to prevent the virus from spreading in low-risk areas.

Liu said people in low-risk areas are encouraged to reduce going out and to wear masks properly.

"Residents are encouraged not to leave their own district when not necessary," he said. "And those who go across districts should have negative nucleic acid tests from within 48 hours."