Health News Roundup: China COVID cases rise, hard-hit Beijing tightens entry rules; Hong Kong leader tests positive for COVID after APEC summit and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. China COVID cases rise, hard-hit Beijing tightens entry rules China's capital warned on Monday that it was facing its most severe test of the COVID-19 pandemic, shutting businesses and schools in hard-hit districts and tightening rules for entering the city as infections ticked higher in Beijing and nationally.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

China COVID cases rise, hard-hit Beijing tightens entry rules

China's capital warned on Monday that it was facing its most severe test of the COVID-19 pandemic, shutting businesses and schools in hard-hit districts and tightening rules for entering the city as infections ticked higher in Beijing and nationally. China is fighting numerous COVID-19 flare ups, from Zhengzhou in central Henan province to Chongqing in the southwest. It reported 26,824 new local cases for Sunday, nearing the country's daily infection peak in April.

Hong Kong leader tests positive for COVID after APEC summit

Hong Kong's chief executive, John Lee, has tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from an Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit in Bangkok, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders. The global financial hub has fewer COVID-19 curbs than the rest of China, but it still does not treat the virus as endemic, as most of the world does. That dissuades tourists and many business travellers from entering.

Beijing reports 316 new local COVID cases, enforces inbound travel rules

Beijing city reports 316 new local COVID cases for the 15 hours to 3 p.m. on Monday, a city official said during a briefing. China's capital city is facing its most complex and severe COVID control situation since the start of the pandemic, Liu Xiaofeng, the deputy director of Beijing's municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said.

Philips flags new problems with previously-replaced ventilators

Philips, which has been struggling with a major recall of ventilators, on Monday flagged further problems with some machines it has previously replaced, according to an FDA statement. A Philips spokesperson said that only Trilogy 100/200 ventilator models were potentially affected.

Over 4,000 Zimbabwean doctors and nurses left the country in 2021

Zimbabwean health workers have left the country in droves over the past year, a senior official at the Health Services Board (HSB) revealed on Sunday. More than 4,000 health workers have left since 2021, HSB chairperson Dr Paulinus Sikosana told Reuters. This includes more than 1,700 registered nurses who resigned last year and more than 900 who left this year.