Students in schools across several Beijing districts buckled down for online classes on Monday after officials called for residents in some of its hardest-hit areas to stay home, as COVID cases in China's capital and nationally ticked higher.
China is fighting numerous COVID-19 flare ups, from Zhengzhou in central Henan province to Chongqing in the southwest and for Sunday reported 26,824 new local cases, nearing the country's pandemic peak in April. It also recorded two deaths in Beijing, up from one on Saturday, which was China's first since late May.
