Beijing reports 41 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases
Epidemic workers set up shelves to transfer deliveries at the gate of a sealed residential community in Beijing on Sunday. CHENG GONG Beijing reported 41 new locally transmitted COVID 19 cases between Friday and Sunday in various locations in the city, further complicating prevention and control efforts in the capital, a senior official said on Sunday.
The latest infections involved students, a teacher, seniors who had been traveling in tour groups, interior decorators and a restaurant deliveryman. A preliminary epidemiological investigation showed that the disease has been spreading for a week, said Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, at a news conference on Sunday afternoon.
The gene sequencing on four samples from the patients showed that the viruses are the Omicron variant, she said.
The initial source has yet to be identified, and the investigation is ongoing, and the initial source has yet to be identified, Pang said.
About a quarter of the 41 cases are over the age of 60 and above. Half of those cases had not been vaccinated.
According to Pang, the capital reported 21 new locally transmitted COVID 19 cases between 4 pm Saturday and 4 pm Sunday 16 confirmed patients and five asymptomatic carriers in Chaoyang, Shunyi and Fangshan districts. Nine students and one deliveryman were among the confirmed cases.
A school in Chaoyang reported 10 cases between Friday and Saturday. The school was put under controlled management on Friday.
The city has taken measures to make sure people's daily needs are met in the controlled areas, and all of the districts involved have taken epidemic prevention and control measures.
The district will conduct nucleic acid testing for all people living and working in it starting Monday, according to Yang Beibei, deputy head of Chaoyang.
She said people in Chaoyang should try to reduce their social activities. Since Saturday, all sports, art and training schools in Chaoyang have suspended in-person classes. On Saturday and Sunday, Chaoyang tested 733,647 residents in key areas.
The authorities will strengthen the prevention and control measures related to interior decorators and tour groups to avoid the potential for additional infections.
Chaoyang has suspended all regional tour groups. The district will offer subsidies to service operators that are affected by the epidemic control measures.
As of Saturday, Shunyi, where two new cases were reported on Sunday, tested around 500,000 residents, and all the results were negative.
The district has helped 200 farming families work in bubbles to avoid financial losses that could be incurred by epidemic control measures.
On Sunday, authorities designated a residential community in Chaoyang as a high-risk area and another as a medium-risk area.