Beijing on Alert after COVID-19 Cases Discovered in School

Commuters wearing face masks walk in a subway station in Beijing, Friday, April 22, 2022. (AP)
Commuters wearing face masks walk in a subway station in Beijing, Friday, April 22, 2022. (AP)
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Beijing on Alert after COVID-19 Cases Discovered in School

Commuters wearing face masks walk in a subway station in Beijing, Friday, April 22, 2022. (AP)
Commuters wearing face masks walk in a subway station in Beijing, Friday, April 22, 2022. (AP)

Beijing is on alert after 10 middle school students tested positive for COVID-19, in what city officials said was an initial round of testing.

City officials suspended classes in the school for a week following the positive test results on Friday. The Chinese capital also reported four other confirmed cases that day that were counted separately.

Mainland China reported 24,326 new community-transmitted infections on Saturday, with the vast majority of them asymptomatic cases in Shanghai, where enforcement of a strict "zero-COVID” strategy has drawn global attention.

China has doubled down on the approach even in face of the highly transmissible omicron variant. The zero-COVID policy warded off many deaths and widespread outbreaks when faced with less transmissible variants through mass testing and strict lockdowns where people could not leave their homes.

But recent developments in Shanghai have led some to question whether the strategy is worth the tradeoffs. Many residents in the city have struggled to get adequate food supplies during a lockdown this month, while some were also unable to get drugs or medical attention. Some elderly people died after an outbreak at an hospital led medical staff to be quarantined.

The country is now facing its worst outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic in the central city of Wuhan.

Local media reported that in Beijing’s Chaoyang district, the government ordered the suspension of in-person after-school activities and classes. The city government is now conducting a round of mass testing to look for more cases.

In Shanghai, city officials reported 12 new deaths Saturday, all elderly patients with underlying illnesses.



Thousands Mourn Top Iranian Military Commanders, Scientists Killed in Israeli Strikes

Mourners stand next to the coffin of Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami (R), and other military commanders killed during Israeli strikes on the first day of the war, during their funeral procession at Enqelab Square in the capital Tehran on June 28, 2025. (Photo by Atta KENARE / AFP)
Mourners stand next to the coffin of Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami (R), and other military commanders killed during Israeli strikes on the first day of the war, during their funeral procession at Enqelab Square in the capital Tehran on June 28, 2025. (Photo by Atta KENARE / AFP)
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Thousands Mourn Top Iranian Military Commanders, Scientists Killed in Israeli Strikes

Mourners stand next to the coffin of Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami (R), and other military commanders killed during Israeli strikes on the first day of the war, during their funeral procession at Enqelab Square in the capital Tehran on June 28, 2025. (Photo by Atta KENARE / AFP)
Mourners stand next to the coffin of Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami (R), and other military commanders killed during Israeli strikes on the first day of the war, during their funeral procession at Enqelab Square in the capital Tehran on June 28, 2025. (Photo by Atta KENARE / AFP)

Thousands of mourners lined the streets of downtown Tehran on Saturday for the funeral of the head of the Revolutionary Guard and other top commanders and nuclear scientists killed during a 12-day war with Israel.

The caskets of Guard's chief Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of the Guard’s ballistic missile program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh and others were driven on trucks along the capital's Azadi Street.

Salami and Hajizadeh were both killed on the first day of the war, June 13, as Israel launched a war it said meant to destroy Iran's nuclear program, specifically targeting military commanders, scientists and nuclear facilities.

Over 12 days before a ceasefire was declared on Tuesday, Israel claimed it killed around 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, while hitting eight nuclear-related facilities and more than 720 military infrastructure sites. More than 1,000 people were killed, including at least 417 civilians, according to the Washington-based Human Rights Activists group.

Iran fired more than 550 ballistic missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted, but those that got through caused damage in many areas and killed 28 people.

Saturday's ceremonies were the first public funerals for top commanders since the ceasefire, and Iranian state television reported that they were for 60 people in total, including four women and four children.

Authorities closed government offices to allow public servants to attend the ceremonies.