Beijing has ramped up its epidemic prevention measures as the Chinese capital reported seven new locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday.
The seven patients, who live in the Shunyi district, are all close contacts of earlier reported cases, according to the Beijing municipal health commission. The city also reported one imported asymptomatic case of COVID-19 on Monday.
Beijing has conducted nucleic acid tests for over 1.37 million people in key areas related to COVID-19 infections in Shunyi and Chaoyang districts, the local government said, and anti-epidemic measures at airports and customs will be strengthened in an effort to curb the latest cases. State media quoting authorities said that the situation for epidemic prevention and control in Beijing is complex.
The local authorities in the worst affected Shunyi district said that the district has upgraded its emergency response level to the top level. It will test all its residents to screen out potential COVID-19 infections.
Mainland China reported 27 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, up from 21 cases a day earlier. The National Health Commission said in its daily online bulletin that 12 of the new cases were imported infections originating from abroad. The 15 locally transmitted cases came from the northeastern province of Liaoning and the capital city of Beijing.
The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to eight from 20 cases a day earlier. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in mainland China now stands at 87,003, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.
