Beijing adds four COVID-19 high-risk areas

BEIJING -- Beijing added four high-risk areas for COVID-19 on Thursday, with two in Chaoyang District and two in Fangshan District, according to local authorities.

The city currently has 17 high-risk areas and 31 medium-risk areas for COVID-19, said Pang Xinghuo, deputy head of the Beijing municipal disease prevention and control center, at a press conference on Thursday.

From 3 p.m. Wednesday to 3 p.m. Thursday, Beijing registered 39 new COVID-19 infections, with 38 found in groups already under epidemic control measures and one in community-level screening, according to Pang.

About 20.55 million people in Beijing were sampled for nucleic acid testing on Wednesday. The screening saw four tubes test positive, with each tube containing 10 individual samples.

The city has ordered employers in Chaoyang District and other areas where public transportation has been suspended to arrange for their employees to work from home from Thursday.

Employees' wages shall not be lower than the city's minimum wage during the working-from-home period, said Tian Wei, an official with the municipal publicity department.