Photo: VCG

Communities in Tongzhou district in China's capital Beijing were asked to enter "war-time" mode for epidemic control purposes as COVID-19 flare-ups in the adjacent Hebei Province continued, announced Tongzhouzugong, the official WeChat account of the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Tongzhou District Committee. 

Relevant government officials clarified with the Global Times that Tongzhou's "war-time" status does not mean a district-wide state of emergency as Shunyi district previously declared, but rather a "war-time" status for community control efforts to prevent the infection from entering the district.

Located in southeast Beijing and considered the eastern gateway to the capital, Tongzhou district is positioned as a "sub-administrative center" of Beijing, with municipal government departments moving to the district from central Beijing. 

Tongzhou has not yet reported any infections related to Hebei Province. 

Tongzhou authority asked epidemic control staff in residential communities and villages to ensure they complete nucleic acid testing for people with potential risk of infection and make sure that those who traveled to high-risk areas remain quarantined at designated locations, according to Tongzhouzugong.

A resident surnamed Jin told the Global Times that she had not heard of any cases found in the district yet. The flow of people in her neighborhood's supermarkets has so far been normal as well.

Beijing has rolled out a series of measures to prevent infections in Hebei Province from entering the capital. On January 6, local authorities were asked to strengthen control on channels entering Beijing from Hebei.

People who have been to Shijiazhuang and Xingtai, two cities hit by COVID-19 recently in Hebei, since December 10, have been asked to report to their workplaces and communities, and cooperate with screening and nucleic acid tests.

Hebei is now in "war-time" mode and has reported 127 COVID-19 cases and 183 asymptomatic carriers since January 2. Shijiazhuang, the city where most infections have been reported, has been locked down.