A COVID-19 testing device is on show at the China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing on Monday. The device relies on four molecular parallel reactions, and can shorten the detection time from hours to 30 minutes. Photo: Li Hao/GT

 Beijing's COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control authorities are requiring three nucleic acid tests for travelers from overseas after the capital city resumed direct international flights.

Travelers from overseas to Beijing must take a first test and bring the certificate of their negative result within five days before boarding; the travelers then must conduct a health declaration and take a second test at customs; they must take a third one after completing quarantine after landing in China, and those with negative results can be removed from concentrated medical observation, said Tian Tao, a member of the city's epidemic prevention and control work team, at a press conference on Wednesday.

All 255 samples taken from facilities at Beijing Capital International Airport's T3D terminal have tested negative from September 3 to 14, an airport representative said on Wednesday.

Since resuming direct international flights on September 3, the city has opened 34 hotels for concentrated medical observation and quarantine, a total of 9,437 people have used the quarantine sites, and 2,905 of them are still under medical observation, officials said.

Flights from eight countries including Cambodia, Denmark and Australia have been arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport, customs authorities said, with the total number of visitors arriving from overseas controlled within 500 per day. 

The press conference was held after Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province reported six confirmed cases on Tuesday and Monday respectively, just after Chinese National Day holidays.

As of Tuesday, Beijing confirmed five close contacts and 15 secondary contacts related to the cases in Qingdao. All the 20 people have tested negative and are in isolation without any symptoms.

People from Qingdao have been advised against non-essential trips to Beijing, and those who have to should present negative nucleic acid test results within seven days and a health QR code before arriving in the capital, officials said.