Beijing, May 2: The Chinese mainland reported 846 new locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases and 32 deaths in the past 24 hours, said the National Health Commission on Monday. Of the new local cases, 727 were reported in Shanghai while the rest of the cases came from 13 other provincial-level regions, including 36 in Beijing, Xinhua reported citing the commission.

The country also reported a total of 6,895 locally-transmitted asymptomatic infections of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, of which 6,606 local asymptomatic carriers were identified in Shanghai.  A total of 4,662 people recovered from the virus in the past 24 hours, according to the commission.

However, as many as 32 people, all in Shanghai, succumbed to the virus in the past 24 hours, Xinhua reported. Meanwhile, in a major escalation of COVID-19 restrictions amid a surge in Omicron variant cases, Beijing has banned all restaurant dining, shut down Universal Studios and ordered residents to provide proof of a negative Covid test to enter public venues, according to CNN. COVID-19 in China: Beijing Residents Must Test COVID-19 Negative To Enter Public Spaces.

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread in more and more cities in China, questions are mounting over the country's zero covid policy. The country's much-publicized "zero-covid" strategy that the government credited for bringing the country out of the pandemic till recently is falling apart as the rapidly mounting cases are again forcing mass lockdowns like those seen in 2020.

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