Beijing workers who live in Hebei urged to work at home

To reduce the risk of infection, Beijing workers who live in neighboring cities in North China's Hebei province are being encouraged to work from home, a senior official in Beijing government said at a news conference on Monday.

Xu Hejian, spokesman for Beijing government, said before the risks from COVID-19 pandemic in Hebei are effectively controlled, commuters who live in Hebei and work in Beijing are advised to work from home.

"Those who need to enter Beijing for work should strictly follow related regulations and take close attention to their own health condition," he said.

Hebei announced on Thursday that residents in the province must not go to Beijing unless absolutely necessary.

People who need to travel to Beijing for anything other than work must provide a negative nucleic acid test result from within 72 hours before arrival in the capital to enter.

People who live in Hebei province and work in Beijing must bring three documents to enter the capital, namely, their residential identification from their communities, their certificate of employment from their workplace in Beijing and a negative nucleic acid test result from within 14 days.

Workers on their first entry into the capital also must provide a negative nucleic acid test result from within 72 hours.

Starting Monday, passengers in Beijing are required to register their health code via smart phone application when taking a taxi or using a car-hailing service, according to the latest regulation announced by the government on Sunday.

Xu said at the conference the taxi companies and car-hailing platforms should take major responsibility for their drivers' nucleic acid testing and related disinfection measures.

"Companies that fail to meet epidemic control and prevention measures will be suspended from operation," he said.

Previously, Beijing reported three confirmed COVID-19 cases who work for a car-hailing company.

On Saturday, Beijing reported one new local confirmed COVID-19 case and one asymptomatic case. The asymptomatic case, 27-year-old male, is a driver for a car-hailing company.