The capital has upgraded management over travelers entering China through Beijing to further screen out novel coronavirus carriers, according to a meeting attended by the city's top officials on Thursday.
Efforts to curb the spread of the contagion from imported cases should be strengthened in the city, specifically, through each community and neighborhood, Beijing Daily reported, citing information from the meeting chaired by Beijing Party Secretary Cai Qi on Thursday.
Earlier on Wednesday, Beijing enacted a new measure requiring that all people entering China through Beijing from neighboring countries be isolated at home or placed under quarantine for 14 days.
Reducing risks of transmission from the contagion is another key in epidemic prevention and control. All people currently in Hubei province, epicenter of the outbreak, are prohibited from entering the capital, said Chen Bei, deputy secretary general of the Beijing municipal government.
Beijing reported no new confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday, marking the fourth time in a week that the capital announced no newly infected patients from the previous day.
In neighboring countries, the epidemic has escalated as South Korea reported 256 new novel coronavirus cases between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, taking the total confirmed number to 2,022, Yonhap News Agency reported, as quoted by Capital News, an official WeChat account operated by Beijing Daily.
In Japan, confirmed cases reached 919 on Friday with eight deaths and 52 in critical condition, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK, as reported by China News Service. Among the infected patients, 705 are passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
