Beijing will lower its emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic from the second to the third level starting Saturday, a local official announced Friday.

The strategies of the epidemic prevention and control will be adjusted accordingly, said Chen Bei, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing municipal government, at a press conference on Friday.

Travelers to the capital city from central China's Hubei Province, the once epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, will no longer be required to place themselves under medical observation for 14 days, added Chen.

The relaxation of restrictions came after the city had seen no new confirmed local COVID-19 cases for 50 consecutive days.

On January 24, Beijing activated the highest level of public health emergency response to contain the outbreak of the epidemic.