Beijing reports 2 new COVID-19 infections

BEIJING, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Beijing reported two new local COVID-19 infections in the first 15 hours of Friday, a local health official told a press briefing Friday.

The infections were found among people already in quarantine in the districts of Shunyi and Daxing, said Liu Xiaofeng, deputy head of the Beijing municipal disease prevention and control center.

Since Aug. 15, the city has reported a total of 12 COVID-19 cases, Liu said, adding that, through epidemiological investigations and gene sequencing, four of them were primarily determined to have been infected on their train journeys to Beijing.

The city requires people arriving in Beijing to hold a certificate showing negative nucleic acid test results, before they are allowed to return to work.