China: Beijing Shuts Schools Over COVID-19 Deaths

Beijing shuttered schools across several districts on Monday while residents in some of its hardest-hit areas were asked to stay at home.

The country is fighting COVID-19 from Zhengzhou in central Henan province to Chongqing in the southwest.

It reported 26,824 new local cases for Sunday, nearing the country's daily pandemic peak in April.

It also recorded two deaths in Beijing, up from one on Saturday, which was China's first since late May.

Guangzhou, a southern city of nearly 19 million people battling the largest of China's recent outbreaks, ordered a five-day lockdown for Baiyun, its most populous district.

It also suspended dine-in services and shut down nightclubs and theatres in the city's main business district.

Beijing reported 962 new infections up from 621, a day earlier. Its sprawling Chaoyang district, home to 3.5 million people, urged residents to stay home, with schools going online.

Some schools in Haidian, Dongcheng and Xicheng districts also halted in-person teaching.