Residents walk in a street in Beijing, wearing face masks, on March 10, 2022. Photo: VCG

Beijing's health authorities said on Sunday that they will further expand nucleic acid testing as the capital currently stands "at a critical stage of epidemic control." 

Beijing saw six confirmed local cases and two asymptomatic infections on Sunday. A total of 30 cases have been reported in the recent COVID-19 outburst since March 7 in five districts of the city. 

The arrival to Beijing of COVID-19 from overseas and other places in China is the key to current epidemic prevention and control work in the capital, said Xu Hejian, spokesperson of the Beijing municipal government, at a press conference on Sunday. 

Beijing is at a critical stage of epidemic control with six imported transmission chains from other cities. Multiple infections have also resulted from family gatherings and public dining, according to Xu.  

Considering the rapid transmission of the Omicron variant, Beijing will expand the scope of nucleic acid screening, strictly implement quarantine policies, and control areas affected by the virus to reach zero cases within the shortest time, Xu said.

The Chinese mainland reported 3,122 locally transmitted COVID-19 infections on Sunday, including local asymptomatic infections covering 18 provinces, municipalities and regions. 

China's National Medical Products Administration approved the sales of five COVID-19 antigen self-testing products on Saturday. The testing kits will be used as a supplement  of standard nucleic acid testing to help fight the spread of the virus.