NHC: Beijing, Hebei Province report new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases for five straight days

The Chinese capital Beijing and its neighboring Hebei Province have reported new locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 for five consecutive days, National Health Commission spokesperson Hu Qiangqiang said on Friday.

Hu told a press briefing that the number of active critical COVID-19 cases has also been increasing for the past five days. China has also seen fast growth in the number of people under medical observation who had close contacts with confirmed cases.

Hu stressed that China still faces challenges in treating COVID-19 patients and the country needs to build on achieved results in epidemic control and prevention and completely cut off the virus transmission.

When asked about outbound travels for Beijing residents, Wang Bin, an official with the National Health Commission, said those who can provide proof of a negative coronavirus nucleic acid test result received within a week prior to leaving the city, and show a normal temperature upon arriving at their destination, should be able to travel without any restrictions in other cities and provinces.