Photo: VCG

Several districts in Beijing issued letters to residents on Friday, calling for less cross-district personnel flow and less unnecessary trips during the weekend, so as to cut off the virus transmission chain at the community level as soon as possible.

At a press conference on Friday, an official from Chaoyang district, the worst-hit and also the most populous district in the city, called on Chaoyang residents to stay at home during the weekend. 

The district government of Chaoyang also advised residents not to leave the district unless necessary, and if they do, they must provide negative nucleic acid test results taken within 48 hours.

After the press conference, six other districts, including Dongcheng, Xicheng, Tongzhou, Yanqing, Changping and Shunyi, released on their official media accounts letters to their residents, calling on people to reduce cross-district personnel flow and avoid unnecessary trips. Haidian district released a similar letter to residents on Saturday.

Beijing on Saturday reported 79 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 436 local asymptomatic cases. Among them, 80 were found at the community level.

With cases being found at the community level continuing to increase, city officials warned of rising risk of hidden transmission on Friday.

To better curb the spread of the virus, local district governments have proposed various methods to help reduce the number of people gathering. Most of the letters issued by the district governments advised local residents to keep a simple lifestyle of commuting only between home and the office. Working from home and online meetings are also encouraged in these letters.

Some major shopping malls across the city also suspended the dining-in services following the current epidemic prevention and control measures. 

For example, the upscale malls SKP and SKP-S issued a notice on Saturday to suspend the services and Beijing Hopson One also issued a similar notice, requiring 24-hour valid nucleic acid test result for entering the shopping mall.