Beijing steps up efforts to identify potential risks of COVID-19 spreading

Beijing is further expanding its scope of nucleic acid testing for COVID-19 in the second wave of the virus to enhance hazard screening. In addition, it is also taking multiple approaches to ensure that all citizens consciously obey the epidemic prevention and control measures.

The Chinese capital reported 17 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on June 26, a slight uptick after the number had been kept stable for days.

The situation is still grave in Beijing and efforts must not be slackened, said a spokesperson of the Beijing municipal government. Epidemic control is an "advance-or-lose ground", so no effort can be spared, the spokesperson added.

Focusing on key groups of people, Beijing is doing everything to identify potential dangers. The cases newly reported on June 26 were still mostly related to the Xinfadi wholesale market where the second cluster of COVID-19 cases emerged. However, epidemiological investigation showed that some infected patients had been to a variety of places and contacted many people.. Beijing is now making every effort to identify risks and continuously expanding the scope of nucleic acid testing for COVID-19.

Dayanglu Market in Beijing's Chaoyang district, the second largest wholesale market of the city, has large foot traffic and frequent visits of non-local vehicles. At present, a COVID-19 testing station is established in the market, and out-of-town drivers can receive their test results within 10 hours.

Wang Hongcun, an official with Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau introduced that the capital is currently screening the personnel in the hairdressing and beauty industry, including disinfecting the premises and testing relevant staff. As of the end of June 26, 10,765 entities in the industry had been screened and 26,286 nucleic acid samples collected. A total of 12,350 test results were available, and all of them were negative.

Beijing also issued a new guideline to help citizens with epidemic prevention and control. At present, potential risks of the virus spreading still exist in Beijing, so personal protection of Beijing citizens is of vital importance.

The Beijing Center for Diseases Prevention and Control recently released a new guideline for the public, including 25 items divided in 6 major areas - wearing masks, social distancing, hand hygiene, health monitoring, dietetic hygiene, and daily cleaning and disinfection.

According to Wang Liping, researcher with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, good hygienic habits can lower the possibility of getting infected from contaminants. She reminded the public to wear masks and properly dispose the packages when receiving express parcels. Besides, citizens should also wash their hands with running water and soaps, or hand sanitizers, and avoid the crowds when receiving the parcels at the gates of residential communities.