Beijing authorities on Wednesday sealed off Peking University and ordered widespread testing following a reported COVID-19 case on campus.
Nationwide, authorities reported about 20,000 new infections on Wednesday and about 370 were reported in Beijing alone.
While the rest of the world was trying to live with the virus, China continues to pursue a tough zero-COVID strategy with lockdowns, strict control, contact tracing and quarantine mandates.
Still, the number of new infections has sharply risen once again, especially in recent weeks, as the highly contagious Omicron variants are spreading rapidly.
There was also growing public resentment about the ongoing stringent measures.
Currently, there are people in lockdown in virtually all major cities across the country.
In the particularly hard-hit southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou, there were violent protests against the COVID-19 measures on Monday, with migrant workers in lockdown even tearing down blockades. (dpa/NAN)