A courtier is given nucleic acid tests in Beijing. Photo: courtesy of Meituan

 
Beijing is conducting massive nucleic acid tests on food deliverymen and courtiers to reduce infection risks amid the latest coronavirus outbreak in the capital, the local authority said on Saturday.

Zhang Qiang, an official with Beijing's COVID-19 prevention team, revealed the information at a press conference on Saturday. 
 
According to earlier media reports, all delivery staff of food delivery platforms and express delivery companies in Beijing will be given nucleic acid tests and their testing is expected to be completed within the next week. Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing is also arranging to give all its drivers free tests for the virus.

Amid the recent COVID-19 outbreak in the capital, many platforms providing deliveries and other services that come in close contact with Beijing residents, announced that their employees will be tested for the virus. These include couriers working for food delivery platform Meituan and express delivery company Shunfeng Express.

A courtier is given nucleic acid tests in Beijing. Photo: courtesy of Meituan

 
Delivery people working for Shunfeng Express and Meituan began receiving nucleic acid tests on Friday at different testing sites, The Beijing News reported. 

“Users will see the test results on our platform when our app is upgraded. The service will be launched in the next week,” a public relations employee with Meituan told the Global Times on Saturday.

The employee said that delivery people in high-risk districts in Beijing have been told to stop working and quarantine at home for 14 days. 

The tests are being conducted at the request of city authorities, The Beijing News report said.

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing is also offering free tests to all drivers in Beijing. Didi said its drivers can also go to nine new-openly epidemic prevention stations to have their vehicles disinfected, according to a report of Beijing Daily.

All employees of public transport and taxi companies in Beijing’s Daxing district are also being tested. Already 1,471 bus and taxi drivers in the district have been tested, The Beijing news reported on Saturday.