SHANGHAI: China's President Xi Jinping praised the country's "tested" zero-Covid strategy on Friday, even as Shanghai authorities prepared nearly 130,000 beds for Covid-19 patients amid surging cases and mounting public anger.
Until March, China had kept cases low with localised lockdowns, mass testing, and strict restrictions on international travel.
But the country has reported thousands of daily cases in recent weeks, with economic hub and outbreak epicentre Shanghai placed under lockdown over ballooning infections of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Shanghai authorities said on Friday that 130,000 new beds were ready or under construction for Covid-positive residents in the city at makeshift venues including exposition halls.
The city reported more than 21,000 new infections on Friday, the vast majority asymptomatic.