China’s capital Beijing has gone on high alert as the situation turned grim following the emergence of clusters of COVID-19, while the country’s financial hub Shanghai reported 39 more deaths due to the virus, the highest in a day so far during the current outbreak since last month.

The Chinese mainland on Saturday reported 21,796 cases, including 1,566 positive cases and the rest asymptomatic cases mostly in Shanghai, China’s National Health Commission reported on Sunday.