Beijing 4th-grader tests negative after exposure

A fourth-grade student in Beijing's Xicheng district tested negative for the coronavirus on Thursday after his father, surnamed Tang, tested positive on Wednesday.

In response to the student's exposure, 33 students and 15 staff members including teachers at Yumin Primary School have been quarantined at home, a statement from the school said on Friday.

The school immediately launched an emergency response plan, including providing psychological counseling for students and shifting to online teaching, the statement said. It remains open for other students.

Tang's two close contacts — his child and another person — were isolated for medical observation. Both of their tests came back negative, a notice from Xicheng district said on Thursday night.

Students in two classes on the same floor as the exposed child were transferred to backup classrooms. Meanwhile, public areas, including classrooms and bathrooms where the child had been were thoroughly sterilized, the school's statement said.

The body temperature of the exposed child is normal so far, and the child had no obvious physical discomfort, it said.

As of Thursday, the capital had reported no new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases for 56 consecutive days. The city lowered its public health warning level from the second-highest to third-highest on June 6.

Coronavirus risks remain in the capital, and epidemic prevention measures will stay in place for a long time, the Beijing anti-virus leading group determined in a meeting on Thursday afternoon.

The origin of Tang's confirmed case should be traced rapidly and followed up with a strict epidemiological investigation, the leading group said, adding that the tracing time should be long enough to determine the full scope of close contacts, as high accuracy is require for public safety.

Entertainment venues, such as movie theaters and KTVs, will remain closed, and the epidemic prevention and control work in places of public gathering will be strengthened, the leading group said.