国内英语新闻:Beijing adds another medium-risk area for COVID-19

BEIJING, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Beijing added another medium-risk area for COVID-19 on Friday, increasing the city's total medium-risk areas for coronavirus to six, a local health official said.

Nancai Village in Shunyi district was upgraded to a medium-risk region starting on Friday, Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the center, told a press briefing on Friday.

Shunyi district, where most of the latest locally transmitted cases were reported, had traced 1,750 close contacts by midday Friday. All of them went into quarantine at designated places, Zhi Xianwei, executive deputy head of the district government, told reporters.

By 3 p.m. Friday, authorities sampled 109,000 people for nucleic acid tests, and 101,700 people tested negative. The results of the rest are yet to come, said the district official.

Zhi said the district has temporarily canceled commercial activities designed for large groups of people, banned group meals and year-end parties, and shut down places like theaters and swimming pools in the district.

To beef up epidemic prevention and control, new employees in Beijing need proof of negative results of nucleic acid tests taken within three days prior to their first day of work starting Friday, said Xu Hejian, a spokesperson for the municipal government, at the press conference.