Covid-19 cases rise in China, as ‘ferocious’ Beijing bar cluster and Inner Mongolia trigger worries

Countrywide tally rose to 196 from 138 on Saturday, National Health Commission says

Beijing bar cluster has spread to all but two districts, as cases keep rising in locked down Inner Mongolian border city

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A nucleic acid Covid-19 testing booth in Beijing’s Chaoyang district, a bar cluster from where has spread to 14 of the city’s 16 districts. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 2:34pm, 12 Jun 2022Updated: 8:00pm, 12 Jun 2022

China reported an uptick in Covid-19 cases on Sunday, as the capital Beijing battled a resurgence in infections and a border prefecture in Inner Mongolia became the new epicentre of its latest wave.

The countrywide daily Covid-19 tally rose to 196, from 138 the previous day, according to the National Health Commission. Of these, 122 were confirmed cases, and the rest asymptomatic – which China counts separately.

This came as Beijing, just a week after resuming dine-in services, once again tightened containment measures as it faced a new cluster linked to a bar in Sanlitun – an area of Chaoyang district known for its nightlife.

The city reported 33 new confirmed cases as of 3pm on Sunday, after logging 34 confirmed and 31 asymptomatic infections the previous day.

The bar cluster has so far been linked to 166 cases, spreading across 14 of the city’s 16 districts since Thursday. Officials warned of more to come among both patrons and close contacts.

A mostly deserted pedestrian shopping street in Beijing. Photo: AP

“The bar cluster is ferocious,” Beijing municipal government spokesman Xu Hejian said on Sunday. “We are facing more difficulties in containing this than the previous wave and the cluster at the Xinfadi wholesale market in 2020. Risks of further spread still persist.”

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