(Bloomberg) -- China’s virus cases rose again, climbing to near their highest of the pandemic, with authorities signaling they’re preparing to face even more infections as the country eases some of its Covid Zero rules.

The country reported 24,028 infections for Thursday, holding at the highest since April when Shanghai’s outbreak spurred a surge in the national case tally. The southern manufacturing hub of Guangzhou remains a hotspot, with more than 9,000 new cases. China’s most populous city, Chongqing, said it found 4,631 new infections.

Persistent outbreaks are proving an early test for officials’ tolerance for outbreaks, with national case numbers more than doubling since the virus policy changes were announced on Friday. While state media have repeatedly reaffirmed China’s commitment to to stamping out Covid, health officials on Thursday laid out plans to strengthen the national hospital framework in a potential sign they’re bracing for a swelling caseload.

Read more: China Vows to Build Hospitals to Prepare for More Outbreaks

China will build more hospitals that specialize in treating moderate and severe Covid patients, and ensure that intensive care units account for 10% of all hospital beds to tend to the most vulnerable patients, Guo Yanhong, a National Health Commission official, said at a briefing in Beijing on Thursday. Cities should also build more fever clinics to facilitate the early discovery of Covid infections, while adding more makeshift hospitals to accommodate asymptomatic or mild patients, Guo said.

The People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s flagship newspaper, published its fourth commentary on Covid strategies this week. China is steadily moving forward and taking small steps in improving its virus controls, but it’s not relaxing, opening or “lying flat”, Friday’s article said. 

Parts of some districts in Guangzhou remain locked down, even as restrictions ease in other areas. The local government said one person is in severe condition and another is in critical condition. 

Beijing reported 458 local cases for Thursday, the highest of its current wave. Some public venues including gyms and shops in Chaoyang district, where most cases have been detected, have closed, while schools in the affected area have switched to online classes.

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