Beijing expands testing network to control outbreak

Due to high demand for nucleic acid tests, Beijing's Chaoyang district, the hardest-hit area in the capital during the ongoing outbreak, has increased its number of regular testing sites and prolonged operation times.

By Tuesday, Chaoyang had 1,854 testing sites and 2,913 channels for the public to take tests for free, said Yang Beibei, deputy head of the district government, at a news conference on Tuesday.

"Testing sites in residential communities will be open as early as 6:30 in the morning in order to provide services for people who go to work early," she said.

For people who work in Chaoyang, 161 nucleic acid testing sites and 267 testing channels have been set up around office buildings for their convenience.

The district will dynamically optimize arrangement of testing sites, Yang said.

Chaoyang reported 69 new local COVID-19 cases between midnight and 3 pm Tuesday, among whom five were detected at the community level.

The whole city recorded 170 new local cases between midnight and 3 pm Tuesday, among whom 20 were detected at the community level, according to Liu Xiaofeng, deputy director of the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

In addition to providing better service for nucleic acid tests, Beijing has paid attention to protection of the elderly.

Li Hongbing, deputy head of the city's civil affairs bureau, said on Tuesday all nursing homes in the city had implemented the first-level epidemic control and prevention response for emergencies by Nov 7 to protect the safety and health of the residents.

At present, Beijing has 571 nursing homes with around 46,300 seniors.

"The average age of those seniors is above 80, which means this group of people face a bigger threat during outbreaks," Li said.

Duan Ling contributed to this story.