A Beijing city official warned Tuesday that the situation in the capital was "extremely severe" as a fresh cluster of coronavirus cases prompted mass testing and lockdowns. "Currently, the most important and urgent task is to resolutely prevent and control the epidemic," city spokesman Xu Hejian told a press briefing, adding the city must "take the most determined, decisive and strictest measures" to bring the new outbreak under control. tjx-rox/bys/jah