Health News Roundup: Several Beijing districts shut schools as China COVID cases rise; Hong Kong leader tests positive for COVID after APEC summit and more

That dissuades tourists and many business travellers from entering. Over 4,000 Zimbabwean doctors and nurses left the country in 2021 Zimbabwean health workers have left the country in droves over the past year, a senior official at the Health Services Board (HSB) revealed on Sunday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Several Beijing districts shut schools as China COVID cases rise

Students in schools across several Beijing districts buckled down for online classes on Monday after officials called for residents in some of its hardest-hit areas to stay home, as COVID cases in China's capital and nationally ticked higher. China is fighting numerous COVID-19 flare ups, from Zhengzhou in central Henan province to Chongqing in the southwest and for Sunday reported 26,824 new local cases, nearing April's peaks. It also recorded two deaths in Beijing, up from one on Saturday, which was China's first since late May.

Hong Kong leader tests positive for COVID after APEC summit

Hong Kong's chief executive, John Lee, has tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from an Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit in Bangkok, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders. The global financial hub has fewer COVID-19 curbs than the rest of China, but it still does not treat the virus as endemic, as most of the world does. That dissuades tourists and many business travellers from entering.

Over 4,000 Zimbabwean doctors and nurses left the country in 2021

Zimbabwean health workers have left the country in droves over the past year, a senior official at the Health Services Board (HSB) revealed on Sunday. More than 4,000 health workers have left since 2021, HSB chairperson Dr Paulinus Sikosana told Reuters. This includes more than 1,700 registered nurses who resigned last year and more than 900 who left this year.

(With inputs from agencies.)