More quarantine, health facilities set

Capital to boost provision of makeshift hospitals, services to curb latest spread

Beijing will accelerate the construction and reservation of quarantine areas and makeshift hospitals, amid an increasing number of COVID-19 infections in recent days, a senior official said on Friday.

"The epidemic has been on the rise, with growing cases from communities, demonstrating an even more complicated and severe situation," Xu Hejian, spokesman for the municipal government, said at a briefing.

On Thursday, the city reported 424 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,436 asymptomatic carriers.