Beijing has gone into "emergency response mode" after five more COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the capital over the weekend, according to local and international news reports.
Meanwhile, on Monday other countries in Asia have taken steps to mitigate the increases in cases - especially as new year celebrations near.
The latest Beijing cases all came from the north of the city near Beijing International Capital Airport, the reports said. In total, 13 infections have been detected since the first local infection in 152 days was reported Dec. 18.
"There have been many sporadic outbreaks. The epidemic control situation is very severe," a spokesman for the Beijing government said late Sunday.
"All districts, all agencies and units must enter a state of emergency response and fight...with more resolution and stricter rules to prevent the spread of the coronavirus."
The city is stepping up its response with stricter implementation of the rules on health declarations, mask wearing and temperature checks in public places, while schools have told parents to prepare for a possible earlier winter holiday.
Villages and residential areas have been closed and authorities have started mass testing.
Residents have been advised not to leave the city unless absolutely necessary during the upcoming new year and Lunar New Year holidays. The city is also imposing restrictions on entertainment venues and tourism to avoid gatherings during the holidays.
Beijing travel agencies have also been banned from offering flight and hotel packages or group tours to cities where there have been recent COVID-19 cases. International travel is also banned.
In Australia, authorities have banned revelers from congregating at Sydney's downtown harbor side to see the city's new year's eve fireworks owing to the pandemic risk.
New South Wales state premier Gladys Berejiklian said Monday people who live in the city center could invite up to 10 guests to their homes to celebrate. The guests will have to apply for permits to enter the area.
In South Korea, three cases of an infectious variant that recently emerged in Britain have been confirmed, health authorities said Monday. The three individuals are members of a London-based family who arrived in the country Dec. 22, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. They have been placed in isolation.
South Korea has barred flights from Britain until the end of the year, according to Agence France-Presse.
Thailand's COVID center Sunday said a current outbreak is more serious than a first wave early this year and told people to comply with disease control measures. A center spokesman said the number of infections jumped by more than 1,000 over a short period of time - suggesting the spread of the virus this time is more serious. There were 121 new cases reported Sunday, 94 of which were local transmissions.
"So whether or not the disease control measures will be intensified will depend on how much the public cooperates. If we cooperate, there will be no need to enforce the law, impose lockdowns or a curfew. The government doesn't want to impose restrictions," the spokesman said.
Japan is barring entry of all nonresident foreign nationals as a precaution against a new and potentially more contagious coronavirus variant that has spread across Britain. The Foreign Ministry says the entry ban will start Monday and last through Jan. 31.
Hong Kong is trying to contain its first COVID cluster at a public hospital by ordering everyone connected to undergo mandatory testing after a "super spreader" patient infected seven more people, pushing the size of the outbreak to 19. The infections were among 70 new cases confirmed Sunday, of which 25 were untraceable and one imported, an arrival from Britain. About 50 people also tested preliminary-positive. The city's tally is 8,610, while a 92-year-old succumbed to the disease, taking the number of related deaths to 137.
