Chaoyang issues new measures for high-risk epidemic control

Beijing's Chaoyang district is requiring all returnees from overseas who have completed the integrated 14-day quarantine to continue another 7-day self-quarantine at home to further strengthen epidemic control after the district was listed as a high-risk area.

Due to a recent cluster of infections involving four family members, Chaoyang district was listed as a high-risk area, which aroused wide public concern on Monday.

On Monday night, Chaoyang district government held a meeting on the case and announced new measures for epidemic prevention and control.

Overseas returnees to the district should stay at home for another 7-day quarantine in a one-person room. The community should closely follow the returnee and related family members' health conditions, it said.

On April 14, Beijing reported an imported case that resulted in three more confirmed cases among family members. It was categorized as a concentrated case, which led Chaoyang to be listed as a high-risk area.

The imported case was an inbound Chinese male student headed home from Miami, Florida.

The three related cases are the student's mother, brother and grandfather. They were confirmed with COVID-19 when they and two other family members were tested after the student was confirmed with the illness on April 14. The family members who tested positive were taken to a hospital on April 15.

Up to 62 of the student's close contacts were put under medical isolation and observation.

The student had completed his 14-day quarantine and tested negative multiple times. However, he developed symptoms of fever and cough two days after going home to live with his family. He was sent to the hospital, where COVID-19 was confirmed.

According to the standard, cities, counties and districts with no active cases or with no new infections in the past 14 days are categorized as low-risk regions; those with new infections in the past 14 days and fewer than 50 cumulative confirmed cases, or with over 50 cumulative confirmed cases but without a concentrated outbreak in the past 14 days are categorized as medium-risk regions. Areas with over 50 cumulative confirmed cases and a concentrated outbreak in the past 14 days are categorized as high-risk regions.