Sharjah24 – Reuters: China's capital Beijing ramped up efforts to curb COVID-19 infections, ordering checks among cold-chain firms and urging residents to cut unnecessary gatherings, as the city reported an uptick in local cases weeks before the Winter Olympics.

Beijing had three domestically transmitted infections with confirmed symptoms on Wednesday, including one previously reported as a local asymptomatic carrier for Jan. 18, according to local health authority data on Thursday.

That compared with one local confirmed infection for Jan. 18.

The city has reported less than ten local COVID infections since Jan. 15, with both the Delta and Omicron variants detected, a tiny case count compared with the rest of the world.

However, the city and China are still working under guidelines of getting any virus flare-up under control as soon as possible. The strategy takes on extra urgency as Beijing and neighbouring Hebei province will host the Winter Olympics from Feb. 4, while the ongoing Lunar New Year travel season raises the risk of virus transmission nationwide.