Beijing shuts city schools again over new Covid-19 outbreak

Beijing's education commission on Tuesday (June 16) ordered the closure of the capital's schools again following a new outbreak of the coronavirus in the city of 21 million people.

The commission said on its WeChat social media account that all schools would resume online teaching from Wednesday and universities should also suspend the return of students.

It comes after a Beijing city official warned that the Covid-19 situation there was "extremely severe".

A huge trace-and-test program was sparked after 27 new infections were reported in the Chinese capital from a cluster.

The coronavirus resurgence - believed to have started at the city's sprawling Xinfadi wholesale food market - has prompted alarm as China had largely brought its outbreak under control through mass testing and draconian lockdowns imposed earlier in the year.

The new cases took the number of confirmed infections in Beijing over the past five days to 106, as authorities locked down almost 30 communities in the city and tested tens of thousands of people.

China had eased much of its anti-coronavirus measures in recent months as the government all but declared victory against the disease that emerged in Wuhan late last year.

(Source: BBC)