China on Saturday completed a five-day construction project at a 1,500-room hospital while groups spread COVID-19 in Beijing and the surrounding provinces.
The state of affairs: The facility is one of six hospitals with a total of 6,500 rooms in Nangong, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday, according to AP. They are all expected to be completed next week.
By the numbers: China reached a 10-month high for COVID cases and reported 168 cases on Friday.
- Yes, but: The numbers remain well below the infection levels the country saw last February, when China reached a record high of about 15,000 daily cases.
- According to Johns Hopkins University data, the country reported more than 97,000 cases and more than 4,700 deaths as of Saturday.
- It remains possible that China – the site of the original coronavirus outbreak – underreported its cases.
What they say: The Chinese government has blamed the increase in food imports and travelers visiting the country.
- The new cases “are all imported from abroad. It was caused by access personnel or contaminated goods being imported with cold chain,” the National Health Commission said via AP.
The whole picture: The WHO last May agreed to a call from more than 110 countries to lead an independent review of the global response to coronavirus, after China backed the action following clashes with Australia, which had earlier called for a comprehensive investigation.
Go deeper … Timeline: the early days of the outbreak and cover up of China