Staff members register for residents before nucleic acid test at a testing site in Chaoyang District, Beijing, capital of China, April 25, 2022.Photo:Xinhua

The latest wave of infections caused by the Omicron variant of COVID-19 remains severe in Beijing with the municipal government announcing 67 new cases on Saturday and the suspension of dine-in services at all restaurants during the May Day holidays between May 1-4.  

The city now has already built and converted more venues into makeshift hospitals to meet the potential quarantine caseload caused by the current situation, said one official on Saturday. 

China's capital reported 59 local COVID-19 infections and 8 asymptomatic cases from between 15:00 Friday to 15:00 Saturday, with Chaoyang district reporting 22 cases. Two more district-wide nucleic acid tests will be held on May 1 and May 3 in Chaoyang, according to a  press conference addressing epidemic control held by the Beijing municipal government on Saturday.

Li Ang, a spokesperson from the Beijing epidemic control center, said during the conference that Beijing has already built makeshift hospitals with a capacity of 4,000 beds, and at the same time is also converting some large scale venues into makeshift hospitals, while several districts are also conducting work to select potential makeshift hospital sites.

At the press conference, the local government also announced that from May 1 to 4, the May Day holidays, all units operating business of food and beverage in Beijing must suspend their dine-in service and instead use takeaway and delivery services.

All units should prioritize epidemic control and strengthen management over the health of employees, and prioritize supplies to the people within the zones under temporary lockdown, while also ensuring the stable price and good quality of products, government officials said at the conference. 

Since April 22, Beijing has reported 295 cases impacting 13 districts of the city.