Beijing's health authority found two independent transmission chains in the latest round of the COVID-19 outbreak since April 22 based on an investigation and gene sequencing, and the number of new cases was expected to rise, a senior official said on April 26.
The city reported 22 locally transmitted cases between 4 pm on April 25 and 4 pm on April 26, bringing the total number of infections since April 22 to 92.
"The gene sequencing of 38 samples from the patients showed that the infections involved the Omicron variant and are part of two different transmission chains－one in Chaoyang district, which registered more than half of the confirmed cases, and the other in Fengtai district, which is related to a hospital," Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing CDC, said at a news conference on April 26.
The outbreak involves clusters in schools and among seniors who had been traveling in tour groups, as well as interior decorators and people dining out together and at a wedding feast.
As of April 26, Beijing had two high-risk areas for COVID-19 and 12 medium-risk areas.
Schools are currently a key location for epidemic control and prevention, the health authority said. The schools involved should organize online courses for students and take good care of their mental health.
Some schools in Haidian district were notified that all after-school academic tutoring services provided by training institutions inside and outside the schools are suspended, Beijing Youth Daily reported on April 26. Staff members from institutions outside the schools will be forbidden to enter the campuses.
Beijing is taking every measure to keep the virus from spreading further and to ensure that residents can continue with their daily lives.
The city has started three rounds of nucleic acid testing for the novel coronavirus that began on April 26 for all residents in 11 districts, following Chaoyang, which had already started testing on April 25.
The three rounds of tests will be completed between April 26 and April 30.
During this period, Beijing will suspend all cultural, arts and sports events, exhibitions and large-scale commercial promotions, and after-school training courses.
Zhao Weidong, deputy head of the Beijing Commerce Bureau, said seven major wholesale agricultural produce markets provided a total of 25,200 metric tons of vegetables on April 26, up 11 percent compared with the previous day.
Previously, the bureau said sufficient government reserves are available for daily goods for the public, and management has been strengthened to ensure their timely use as needed.
Zhao announced on April 26 that the government was making its reserve of 100 tons of eggs available to the market starting on April 26.