BEIJING • The municipal health authority in Beijing said yesterday that it is ramping up Covid-19 screening in the city as the number of infections continues to rise.

It said mass testing for the virus will soon enter a "fast track" to detect, treat and quarantine those infected by the coronavirus and to trace their contacts in efforts to curb the latest outbreak.

Officials made the announcement as 13 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in the city for Monday, up from nine a day earlier.

Beijing - a city of more than 20 million people - reported its first case in the latest wave on June 11.

The resurgence has been linked to Beijing's sprawling Xinfadi wholesale food centre in the south-west of the city.

So far, 249 people in the city have been infected in the outbreak.

REUTERS