The Communication University of China has been placed under closed-off management on Saturday, after having reported several confirmed cases of COVID-19. Photo: VCG

The risk of spillover cases into the community from the latest three campus-related flare-ups in Beijing are controllable as their origins are clear, local authorities announced on Monday, saying that sealing off measures will be gradually eased in those universities.

Universities in Beijing have become the focus of COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control in the capital city, since epidemiological investigations showed that the latest three campus-related cluster infection flare-ups stemmed from clear origins of college students who came to or returned to their universities from other provinces, Xu Hejian, spokesperson for the Beijing Municipal People's Government, said at a press briefing on Monday.

According to Xu, the risk of spillover cases into the community from the three flare-ups is controllable, as the epidemics at Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT) and the High School affiliated to Minzu University of China have been stabilized and have entered the end phase while refined prevention and control is still needed at the Communication University of China (CUC) to thoroughly contain the risk.

Beijing registered 15 new local infections as of 3 pm on Monday, with all the cases including nine mild cases and six asymptomatic infections being identified among people under quarantine.

Among the 15 infections, 14 are students from the two universities and one is from school faculty at CUC.

Beijing has registered a total of 96 infections from the three campus-related flare-ups since September 6, including 50 from BUCT, 18 from the High School affiliated to Minzu University of China and 28 from CUC as of Monday afternoon.

Epidemiological investigations and genetic sequencing analysis show that the three flare-ups all originated from outside Beijing but spread through three independent transmission chains with different Omicron variants, Liu Xiaofeng, deputy director of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said during the Monday's briefing.

With the stabilized epidemic situation at BUCT and the high school, lockdowns at the university and the high school will be gradually lifted in an orderly manner with nucleic acid testing and health monitoring measures to be implemented.

On Sunday, a total of 640 students and school staff from CUC were transferred to the centralized quarantine site and an accumulated 13,150 people took nucleic acid tests with their results all coming back negative.

A junior student surnamed Yang from CUC told the Global Times on Monday that the campus and the dormitory zones outside the campus have been placed under static management since September 9 when the university was notified by the local epidemic prevention and control authority. The university has been providing sufficient daily necessities including three meals to the students under quarantine.

"We appreciate that the university responded swiftly after the flare-up broke out and have been providing us with a whole bunch of delicious foods," Yang said, noting that the students receive two meat dishes and one vegetable dish for each of their meals.

During the press briefing on Sunday, Beijing authorities stressed that now that the majority of the infections in these flare-ups are students, universities in the capital have become crucial venues for epidemic prevention and control to which great importance must be attached and new outbreaks have to be thoroughly contained in the shortest time possible.