New Beijing virus cases linked to Nanjing infections

Beijing reported two new locally-transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and one asymptomatic case on Sunday, both related to infections found in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, a senior official said at a news conference on Sunday.

The three cases are from one family who had been to Zhangjiajie, Central China's Hunan province in July. Sixteen close contacts of the confirmed cases were found, according to Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The three cases were from Fangshan district. The residential community of the confirmed cases and surrounding communities were closed to outsiders, which involves about 9,500 people.

Beijing's top epidemic prevention work group held a meeting on Sunday, saying the capital will strictly cut infection transmission with swift actions, facing recent clusters of COVID-19 cases in other domestic areas.

The meeting was hosted by the municipal Party secretary, Cai Qi.

People from the places where the confirmed cases were found should not come to Beijing. Flights, trains and coaches from those places to Beijing are suspended, according to information at the meeting.

The confirmed cases in Beijing and people from the same communities and workplaces should not go outside of Beijing.

Xu Hejian, spokesman for the municipal government, said at a news conference on Sunday that prevention and control measures in airports should be strengthened. Schools and colleges should start making epidemic prevention plans for the fall semester to ensure the safety of students and teachers, he said.

Tourism agencies should stop services for high and medium-risk areas. Parks in Beijing should start controlling the number of visitors.

Before the three newly-reported cases, Beijing reported a total of two locally-transmitted confirmed cases on Wednesday and Thursday. They are a couple who also had been to Zhangjiajie in July for sightseeing.