SHANGHAI, (Reuters) – Mainland China has reported over 1,500 COVID-19 local infections since Saturday’s initial outbreak in 2020. This is the highest number of new cases since then. Cities across China are now taking extra precautions because the Omicron variant causes them to be more severe.

China has 588 reported cases daily, far lower than other countries. But the rising number may complicate Beijing’s “dynamic-clearance” ambitions to stop contagion.

According to the National Health Commission, 476 cases of the daily total were transmitted locally. Five people who had initially been classified as unsymptomatic later became symptomatic.

China has not yet confirmed 1,048 domestically-transmitted asymptomatic diseases. The number was up from 703 on Friday.

Many municipalities have taken steps to cancel group events and launch rounds of mass testing.

Northeastern Jilin Province, which is one of the worst-hit areas, stated that Changchun had been fired as Changchun’s head of district and Jilin City mayor.

Changchun banned all non-essential businesses from operating and ordered 9 million Changchun residents to stop leaving their residences for unrelated reasons. Similar actions were also taken in the urban area of Jilin.

The Disneyland Resort in Shanghai announced that it will reduce its guest capacity. Visitors must present negative results of their nucleic acids tests within 24 hours.

Canton Fair in China, China’s biggest and oldest fair of trade, was temporarily shut down after it was visited recently by an unconfirmed case.

A government taskforce that coordinates China’s COVID-19 response convened Friday to inform all localities to strengthen prevention and control and make this their main political responsibility.

CCTV stated that the state broadcaster CCTV did not want to let “the difficult-to-come through results of control and prevention go to waste.” Resolutely stand firm on the conclusion that an epidemic can’t be repeated in large numbers.