A medical staff member takes a throat swab sample from a man at a newly-adopted mobile testing vehicle in Xicheng District of Beijing, capital of China, June 28, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)
BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Beijing has for the second consecutive day reported no new confirmed domestically transmitted cases of COVID-19. Such a positive trend is largely attributed to a series of precise measures the Chinese capital has taken in combating the virus.
After Beijing reported a new COVID-19 case on June 11, the city put in place a prevention and control system that is targeted, law-and-science-based, flexible and people-centered. Now an optimal balance between health protection and economic resumption is achieved for the city with a population of more than 20 million.
Ever since the new cluster infections, Beijing has quickly enhanced epidemiological tracing and investigation. The Xinfadi market was targeted as the risk location quickly. A citywide campaign was launched to trace people who had visited the market since May 30 via door-to-door inquiries, calls, social media platforms, and other methods. Beijing also undertook extensive testing of people who had been to the market, and implemented strict community control measures in surrounding areas. All these steps are crucial to detecting infection and blocking virus transmission routes.
Staff members disinfect a vehicle going out of the Xinfadi market in Fengtai District of Beijing, capital of China, July 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang)
In order to secure full implementation of response measures down to the lowest level, the government channels human and material resources to the community level so that every infected person is found and treated promptly, and those under quarantine are taken good care of.
Instead of imposing a single approach for the entire city, Beijing categorized the risk levels -- low, medium and high -- in subdistricts and townships and accordingly adjusted the classification. A subdistrict is an urban administrative division one level lower than a district and consists of several residential communities or neighborhoods.
Dynamic measures are being taken in different areas based on the evolving local conditions so as to ensure people's well-being to the greatest possible extent.
Beijing has also utilized big data and artificial intelligence in COVID-19 research and analysis. Health QR codes and digital travel records have been employed as reference in granting permits for making trips, accessing certain public venues and for other daily errands.
Medical workers work at a nucleic acid testing site in Shoupakou South Street of Xicheng District, Beijing, capital of China, June 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)
Such a set of precise measures have played a significant role in controlling sources of infection, breaking the chains of transmission and facilitating the orderly flow of people and the resumption of business operations.
The precise response could not be possible without a deeper understanding of the virus after the country's fight against COVID-19 for about half a year, the scientific and technological advancement, as well as well-established organization and operation mechanisms.
Beijing has set a clear example that China will ward off a new wave of infections -- domestic or imported -- through a prompt and refined epidemic control response, said Zhang Wenhong, head of the Center for Infectious Disease with Shanghai-based Huashan Hospital of Fudan University.
Beijing's experience serves not only as a testament to the resilience of China's governance system in the face of the COVID-19 epidemic but also as an inspiring message for the world that the disease is a foe that can be defeated. ■