Beijing moves to prevent infections in hospitals

Beijing started citywide hospital check on Tuesday in a bid to prevent infections from being transmitted inside the medical facilities, a senior official said at a news conference on Oct 20.

Gao Xiaojun, spokesman for the Beijing Health Commission, said 11,000 hospitals and medical institutions should examine their personnel, medical equipment and work flows to prevent in-hospital infections.

"Hospitals should find out whether there are facilities such as X-ray and CT scanning rooms that are shared by ordinary patients and those suspected or confirmed with COVID-19," he said.

Cross-checks will begin after the initial examination, he added.

Beijing reported confirming an imported case of COVID-19 on Monday. No local case, suspected case or asymptomatic cases were reported.

The new case, a 27-year-old woman, arrived in Beijing on Oct 13 from Jordan via Turkey and Denmark. She had symptoms of fever and headache during her quarantine on Oct 14, although test results were negative multiple times and she had tested positive for novel coronavirus antibodies.

On Monday, COVID-19 was confirmed, and she was subsequently taken to Ditan Hospital for treatment.

"None of her 29 close contacts have reported any symptoms," said Pang Xinghuo, deputy head of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention.