​Chaoyang brings more cars into service to guarantee hospital transport

Chaoyang, the hardest-hit district in the Beijing's latest COVID-19 outbreak, has brought 200 car-hailing vehicles into service on Thursday to fulfill emergency demand from precautionary zones, a senior official of the district said on Thursday.

Yang Beibei, the district's deputy head, said at a news conference on Thursday afternoon by Wednesday more than 5,500 visits to hospitals for medical service have been completed since April 22 when the outbreak started.

"The control and prevention measures are to curb the virus' spread. They should not prevent people getting care, so we have detailed measures to ensure the normal lives of people in lockdown, controlled and precautionary zones," she said.

On Wednesday, 18 major companies providing daily supplies in Chaoyang district have sent 29.8 metric tons of vegetables and fruit to residents in individual bags for each household in controlled zones.

Online commerce platforms have delivered 83,000 orders of vegetables and fruits to residents in the district, she said.

Chaoyang, with a population of around 3.5 million, is the hardest-hit area of Beijing during this outbreak, reporting a total 220 cases as of 3 pm on Thursday.