Beijing reports 46 new local COVID-19 cases

Beijing reported 42 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and four asymptomatic cases between 4 pm Tuesday and 3 pm Wednesday, local authorities have said.

A total of 138 local infections have been logged since April 22, involving eight districts, said Pang Xinghuo, deputy head of the Beijing municipal disease prevention and control center.

Children from six schools and two kindergartens accounted for 31 percent of the infections, Pang said.

Beijing is conducting three rounds of nucleic acid testing from Monday to Saturday. The first round has been completed, with over 19.8 million residents sampled for testing.

Three communities in Beijing were classified as high-risk areas for COVID-19 on Wednesday, and five others as medium-risk areas, bringing the total number of high-risk areas in Beijing to five and medium-risk areas to 16.