Medical workers work at the nucleic acid test laboratory named Huoyan, or Fire Eye, in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 26, 2021. As of Jan. 22, a total of 5.28 million nucleic acid samples have been tested in Shijiazhuang's "Huoyan" laboratory since it was put into use from Jan. 8. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)

Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of China's Hebei which neighbors Beijing, on Tuesday entered "emergency status" for COVID-19 prevention, after a total of 12 infections were reported in the city in this round of flare-up including two new confirmed cases reported on Tuesday.

Entry and exit points of Shenze county and Jinzhou city , both under Shijiazhuang, were under control. 

Shenze county released a notice on October 31 to require all residents to stay indoors and take nucleic acid tests.

Shijiazhuang, which has a population of over 10 million, has deployed 167 medical staff on epidemiological survey to Shenyuan to screen all close contacts with the confirmed cases, Zhang Fengzhen, deputy mayor of Shijiazhuang, told a press conference on Tuesday. 

The total number of confirmed cases in Shijiazhuang has reached 12. The source of this round of flare-up in the city has been spotted, according to Zhang. 

Aside from Shenze, other counties in Shijiazhuang have also implemented stricter measures to control the flare-up.