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December 30, 2020

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Beijing seals off localities after 7 confirmed cases

Source: Agencies | 00:05 UTC+8 December 30, 2020 | Print Edition

BEIJING has sealed off 10 areas of its northeastern Shunyi District, the latest lockdown in the Chinese capital since the last coronavirus outbreak in the months of June and July.

Beijing reported seven new locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, health authorities said yesterday.

The seven patients, who live in Shunyi, are all close contacts of earlier reported cases, according to the Beijing municipal health commission.

Among the new infections, five of them work in a trading service company and the other two are drivers of online ride-hailing platforms.

Local authorities are conducting epidemiologic investigations against the new cases and have taken control and prevention measures.

The city has reported 16 infections and three asymptomatic cases since December 18, when the first cases were found. Most of the cases were in Shunyi on Beijing’s northeastern edge.

Six villages, three buildings and one industrial zone in the district have been locked down, a Shunyi official said.

While Beijing’s new cases are modest in number compared with June and July, municipal authorities have beefed up steps to rein in the coronavirus, which has surfaced in three districts, where hundreds of thousands of residents have been tested.

“The capital’s COVID-19 prevention and control (efforts) need to initiate emergency mode,” a city spokesman said.

Students of primary schools and some from middle schools will start winter holidays by up to two weeks earlier next month, a peak travel period before the lunar New Year in mid-February.

Primary schools will close on January 16, while the winter break will start on January 23 for grade one and two secondary schools students, a spokesperson for Beijing Education Commission said.

The Beijing government has said it was canceling large-scale gatherings such as temple fairs and sporting events, and controlling the size of offline events such as annual parties.

On Sunday, it said it would increase the number of carriages in the Metro system to spread out commuters, and limit attendance at scenic spots and entertainment venues to 75 percent of capacity.

Beijing has also urged residents to stay home during the holidays, with officials in its northern district of Yanqing turning on loudspeakers to advise residents not to travel outside the region.

A total of 27 cases were reported in China’s mainland yesterday, including eight in the northeastern province of Liaoning and 12 brought from outside the country.

The cases in Liaoning were all locally transmitted, the provincial health commission said.

Six of them were identified in Shenyang, the provincial capital, while two others were in the port city of Dalian.

Two asymptomatic cases were also reported in Dalian and Shenyang, respectively. Shenyang will increase nucleic acid testing frequency, the city headquarters in charge of COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control said.

The city will carry out nucleic acid testing for all the people in medium-risk areas while high-risk groups will undergo testing every 48 hours.

Nucleic acid testing will be carried out every three days for people working in cold chain logistics as well as their working environment. For those who are directly engaged in other high-risk work, nucleic acid testing shall be strictly carried out on a weekly basis.

The testing should also cover those working in farmers’ markets, and delivery, take-out and transportation sectors. Besides, their working environment should also be tested.

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