Beijing reports one severe COVID-19 case

The capital has 17 confirmed COVID-19 patients at present in Beijing Ditan Hospital, among whom one of the cases is in severe condition, according to a senior official at the hospital on Tuesday. 

Chen Xiaoyou, deputy head of the hospital, said at a news conference most of the locally transmitted cases during this round of the outbreak related to other provinces are seniors - one aged 57 and the rest between 61 and 69. 

Up to 14 cases among the 17 have other underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and coronary heart disease. 

"It's still at the early stage, which means it's possible those patients' symptoms can get serious as time goes on," Chen said. "Four of the cases developed from mild to common and one of the cases turned to severe from common."

The hospital has made plans for the possibility of more severe patients with increased allocations for both medical staff and equipment. 

Beijing had not reported any new local cases as of 3 pm Tuesday.