Fever clinics in Beijing saw 16 times more patients on Sunday than a week earlier -- a sign that the coronavirus was rapidly spreading following the easing of measures to reduce infection risks.

City officials told reporters on Monday that the number of patients visiting fever clinics in Beijing rose 16-fold to 22,000.

Last week, the Chinese government pared back some of their stringent COVID-19 control measures.

Negative PCR test results are no longer required to enter many public places. Individuals with no or mild symptoms are allowed to self-isolate at home, instead of being sent to hospitals or quarantine facilities.

Faced with the surge in cases, city authorities are planning to increase the number of outpatient departments handling fever cases in Beijing from 94 to 303.

City officials also released 25 million COVID-19 antigen test kits on Monday, as they had become hard to find in the capital.