Omicron In Beijing Expands: Shanghai Emergency Hospital Closes, WFH Reinforces

JAKARTA - The COVID-19 outbreak of the Omicron variant in Beijing is increasingly widespread, while 50 percent of emergency hospitals in Shanghai are closed as positive cases continue to decline.

From April 22 to May 14, 2022, 1,015 COVID-19 patients were treated at referral hospitals, Beijing Municipal Government spokesman Xu Hejian told the press on Saturday.

Quoted by Antara, the implementation of work from home (WFH) in the Chinese capital is not only in Chaoyang District, but also in Fangshan District.

In Fangshan District, which has a population of 1.3 million, all city buses, metro trains and online taxis are banned.

There are at least eight Omicron clusters linked to banks, railway network construction services, bus stops, and restaurants.

In Shunyi District there are also three new cases linked to the bank cluster. The total number of bank cluster cases in the district now stands at 37, including 26 staff.

Meanwhile, in Shanghai five out of ten emergency hospitals have been closed due to a gradual decline in daily cases.

Shanghai health authorities on Saturday reported 194 new cases and 1,487 asymptomatic cases.

With the decline in cases, the number of patients admitted to emergency hospitals was reduced by about 50,000, half of the number of cases at the worst of the situation, Shanghai health authorities said.

Shanghai plans to restart business activities on Monday (16/5), but with a capacity of 50 percent.