COVID: Beijing expands mass testing

Authorities in the Chinese capital of Beijing have begun screening people for COVID-19 to try to contain an outbreak of infections.

The tests will cover nearly 21 million residents of the city and all residents will undergo three rounds of PCR tests for detection of COVID status. Beijing reported 33 new cases on Tuesday.

Even though the capital's most populous district began testing people Monday, the 11 other districts that contain the majority of the city's residents launched their mass testing drive Tuesday.

The mass testing has raised fears of a sudden lockdown in Beijing, with residents worried about not being able to buy food or access medical care for non-COVID conditions, as they saw similar events take place when Shanghai was locked down.

Shanghai has been under lockdown for several weeks, with a daily tally of around 16,000 cases that is much higher than Beijing's. Shanghai reported 52 new deaths on Tuesday. 

Here are the latest major coronavirus developments from around the world:

Americas

US Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, the White House announced. 

She tested positive on both rapid and PCR tests, and said she "has exhibited no symptoms." 

The White House said Harris would isolate at her residence but continue to work remotely and only return to the White House after testing negative. Neither President Joe Biden nor First Lady Jill Biden were considered "close contacts" of hers in the past few days. 

A US federal judge in the southern state of Louisiana said he would block the Biden administration from overturning a policy that expelled migrants at the US-Mexico border.

The policy, known as Title 42, was put in place by former President Donald Trump in the early days of the pandemic, and was justified on public health grounds. The Biden administration said the policy would be lifted in May, but several US states have brought on a legal case against Biden's decision.

Asia

Singapore will lift remaining COVID-19 restrictions beginning Tuesday, as its Health Ministry had announced last week. That means limits on social gatherings will be lifted and employees will be allowed to return to work in their offices.  Restrictions are also set to ease for travelers as the financial hub lowers an alert level — by which it adjudged its action plan to contain COVID infections — for the first time in two years. 

The Philippines on Monday began administering second COVID booster doses for immunocomprimised adults. Nearly 13 million people out of a population of around 110 million have received their first booster shot, government data shows. Around 61% of the population has been vaccinated so far. South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore are among other countries that have approved a second COVID booster shot.

Europe

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner has tested negative for COVID and does not have to quarantine anymore in Washington DC, a spokesperson said Tuesday.

"After another PCR test, he will be cleared to travel to Germany," the spokesman added.

Lindner is scheduled to return to Germany later on Tuesday from Washington, where he contracted the infection last week.

The spokesperson added that the additional test would also satisfy requirements by the German Foreign Ministry of Health for Lindner to be able to resume work.

Lindner is expected to attend Wednesday's Cabinet meeting.

Germany on Tuesday reported 136,798 new COVID cases and 304 deaths, taking the total number of cases to 24,337,394 and deaths to 134,489, according to the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases.

rm/rs (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)