Beijing Photo: CFP

Four districts of Beijing have reported new domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases, underscoring the complexity and importance of the epidemic control work, local officials said. Among five new COVID-19 cases reported on Wednesday, four were related to cold-chain work, prompting Cai Qi, Party chief of Beijing, to call for a high alert in anti-epidemic work with cold chain scenarios and to immediately launch a full-scale inspection across the city. 

Xu Hejian, spokesperson of the municipal government of Beijing, said at a routine press conference on Wednesday that Haidian, Chaoyang, Fangshan and Fengtai districts reported new domestically transmitted cases of COVID-19 amid growing numbers of imported infections, sounding a warning shot for the capital city's epidemic work. 

Among the newly reported cases, four patients work for the same cold-chain warehouse. And of the five cases in Beijing, three were the Delta variant. 

Several residential compounds were sealed off on Wednesday in Fengtai after the new COVID-19 cases were reported.  

The potential for infection via cold-chain logistics caught public attention after a single Omicron case was detected in Beijing, which was traced back to a document sent from Canada. 

As the city is now in 15 days of countdown to the upcoming 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, it also stepped up efforts in fighting both Omicron and Delta. 

A regular anti-epidemic meeting held by Cai on Wednesday urged city authorities to carry out epidemiologist investigations, screening and origin-tracing work at the highest speed. Also, the disinfectant work needs to be carried out in key sectors including cold chain logistics and e-commerce. 

The Omicron variant spreads fast and in addition to the Delta variant it makes the anti-epidemic work even more important, Xu said. The official also urged enhanced anti-epidemic management for Winter Olympics-related maintenance staff and volunteers to ensure safety for both the Games and the city.

Global Times