People visit Qianmen Street in Beijing, capital of China, June 3, 2020. (LI XIN / XINHUA)

BEIJING/WUHAN/SHANGHAI - Beijing on Friday suspended the resumption of classes for lower grades in primary schools after three newly confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in the capital city in the past two days.

According to the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, the decision was made in line with the changing situation of the city's epidemic prevention and control.

Around 520,000 students in the first, second and third grades in Beijing's primary schools were initially scheduled to return to campus on June 15

Around 520,000 students in the first, second and third grades in Beijing's primary schools were scheduled to return to campus on June 15, the commission said on Tuesday. 

Two new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Beijing, a day after the capital on Thursday saw its first case in 56 days, the municipal government said Friday.

The two cases are both employees of China Meat Food Research Center in Fengtai district, said Zhang Jie, deputy head of the district, at a press conference. 

Two close contacts of the case from Thursday tested negative in nucleic acid and antibody testing, local health authorities said on Friday.

Thursday's case was reported in Beijing's Xicheng district. The district's health commission said two family members of the patient, one of whom is the patient's son who is a fourth-grader at Yumin Primary School, were isolated for medical observation and had shown no signs of discomfort.

The patient was identified as a 52-year-old man, who visited a hospital Wednesday afternoon after experiencing an intermittent fever. He later tested positive for COVID-19. According to the patient's statement, he experienced symptoms of fever and fatigue but did not have a cough, sore throat, or chest discomfort. The patient claimed that in the past two weeks he had not left the city and had no contact with people from outside of Beijing.

Thirty-three students and 15 staff members, including teachers, at the primary school where the patient's son is studying were asked to quarantine themselves at home, according to a statement from the school on Friday.

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In response to the one of its students having been exposed to the virus, 33 students and 15 staff members, including teachers, at the primary school were asked to quarantine themselves at home, according to a statement from the school on Friday.

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

Students in two classes on the same floor as the affected student were transferred to backup classrooms. Meanwhile, public areas, including classrooms and bathrooms where the student had been to, were thoroughly sterilized, according to the statement.

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.

Hubei

Hubei province, once hit hard by COVID-19, will lower its novel coronavirus emergency response from level II to level III starting Saturday, a local official announced Friday.

Yang Yunyan, vice governor of Hubei, said COVID-19 prevention and control measures will be adjusted and optimized accordingly.

By the end of Thursday, no new asymptomatic cases had been reported in the provincial capital Wuhan for 12 consecutive days, and other areas of the province had seen no such cases for nine days.

There were 18 asymptomatic cases under medical observation after 24 such cases were released from quarantine on Thursday.

By Thursday, Hubei had reported a total of 68,135 confirmed cases, 4,512 deaths and 63,623 recoveries.

Hubei lowered its COVID-19 emergency response from the top level to the second level on May 2.  

6 out of 7 new cases on mainland imported

Earlier on Friday, Chinese health authorities said it received reports of seven newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Thursday, of which six were imported from overseas.

Out of the six imported cases, five were reported in Shanghai and one in Fujian province, the National Health Commission said in its daily report

The other case was a case of local transmission reported in Beijing, the National Health Commission said in its daily report.

Out of the six imported cases, five were reported in Shanghai and one in Fujian province, the commission said.

The cases in Shanghai involve five Pakistanis, who departed from Pakistan on June 2 and arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on the same day. They showed symptoms during the isolated observation period and were later confirmed as COVID-19 patients.

The five of them have been sent to a designated hospital for medical treatment. Fifty-five close contacts on the flight have been put under concentrated quarantine.

Meanwhile, no deaths related to the disease or new suspected cases were reported Thursday, according to the commission.

On Thursday, four people were discharged from hospitals after recovery.

As of Thursday, the overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 83,064, including 65 patients who were still being treated, with no one in severe condition.

Altogether, 78,365 people had been discharged after recovery and 4,634 people had died of the disease, the commission said.

A woman walks her dog on a footpath along the Yellow River in Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu province, June 11, 2020. (MA XIPING / XINHUA)

By Thursday, the Chinese mainland had reported a total of 1,803 imported cases. Out of those cases, 1,740 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 63 remained hospitalized, with no one in severe condition. No deaths from imported cases had been reported. 

By Thursday, there was one suspected case on the mainland, the commission said.

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According to the commission, 3,124 close contacts were still under medical observation after 206 people were released from medical observation Thursday.

Also on Thursday, one new asymptomatic case imported from overseas was reported on the mainland. Separately, another imported asymptomatic case was re-categorized as a confirmed case. A total of 25 asymptomatic cases were released from medical observation.

The commission said 104 asymptomatic cases, including 45 imported cases, were still under medical observation.

Shanghai

Besides the five imported cases, Shanghai on Thursday also reported one new case of recovery, according to the municipal health commission.

By Thursday, Shanghai had registered a total of 348 confirmed imported cases. Sixteen of them remain hospitalized while the rest had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, according to the commission.

The municipality had reported 341 cases transmitted locally by Thursday, including 334 recoveries and seven deaths. 

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HK, Macao, Taiwan

By Thursday, 1,107 confirmed cases, including four deaths, had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 45 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 443 in Taiwan, including seven deaths.

A total of 1,055 patients in the Hong Kong SAR, 45 in the Macao SAR, and 431 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.