Beijing reports 228 cases during latest round of the outbreak

Beijing's epidemic spreading risks still exist with dozens of new locally transmitted COVID-19 patients reported every day since April 22 and the city has registered 228 infections in total in the latest outbreak by Friday, senior officials said on Friday.

"Beijing has completed two rounds of nucleic acid testings for all people living or working in 11 districts this week," Xu Hejian, spokesman of the municipal government, said at a news conference on Friday.

The city reported 31 new locally transmitted confirmed cases and three new asymptomatic carriers between 3 pm on Thursday and 3 pm on Friday. The city's total infections hit 228 since April 22 and involve 12 districts, according to Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, at the news conference.

Chaoyang, which registered 101 cases by 3 pm on Friday, the most since the outbreak, started its third round of nucleic acid testing on Friday.

Up to 1,553 testing spots were set up across the district to ensure all people can take the tests rapidly and efficiently, said Yang Beibei, the district's deputy head. By 4 pm on Friday, the district had taken more than 3.5 million samples, Yang said.