english.beijing.gov.cn
2021-08-05  |  

The Chinese capital Beijing has decided to cancel large-scale exhibitions and events scheduled this month, after three locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases were newly confirmed in the first 12 hours of Wednesday.

The municipal government has urged relevant departments to carry out timely epidemiological investigations on specific close-contact groups with large mobility, including taxi and ride-hailing drivers, and delivery men.

Beijing plans to step up the screening of people entering the city from areas with reported COVID-19 cases. It also urges relevant departments to take better care of medical workers at the frontline of disease prevention and control.

Airports and traffic nodes in the city are being asked to strengthen their prevention and control measures to halt the spread of the coronavirus. Public places such as parks, scenic spots, performance venues, cinemas and libraries should strictly limit the number of visitors and implement staggered shifts and reservation systems.

Meanwhile, the city is studying a possible work plan for managing the return of students to school in the autumn, according to the municipal government.

The city's three new cases are close contacts of a confirmed case reported last week. Two of them are the patient's relatives, while one was on the same flight with the patient, said Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing center for disease control and prevention.

Beijing has classified two residential compounds as COVID-19 medium-risk areas, while the rest of the city remains low-risk.

A total of 50 close contacts of the new cases have been traced, and more contacts with links to possible risky spots are being verified. 

Numerous Beijing-based theaters have announced the cancellation or postponement of certain upcoming performances and activities. This includes all performances from August 7 to August 15 at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, and from August 12 to 14 as well as August 20 to 21 at the Poly Theatre.

Visitors can obtain a refund for their tickets via the venue or platform through which the tickets were originally purchased. Online ticket refunds are also available for most theaters. Visitors who purchased tickets through the official ticketing platform do not need to apply for a refund, as the ticket payment will be directly returned to the original payment account. Visitors who purchased tickets through cooperative ticketing platforms can contact said platforms for refund.

In addition, the 11th Beijing International Film Festival and the 2021 World Robot Conference, which were originally scheduled to be held in Beijing from August 14 to 21 and from August 18 to 22, 2021 respectively, will be postponed as well.

(Note: Content source is from Xinhua, Beijing Daily and Beijing Daily App.)