Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan on Tuesday stressed earlier and more targeted COVID-19 prevention and control to keep the epidemic from spreading in Beijing.

Sun made the remarks during an inspection tour in the city, where she visited a community, a sampling site and hospitals, and learned in detail about community control, the treatment of patients, nucleic acid tests and other issues.

While the cases directly related to the Xinfadi market have been mostly controlled, clusters of cases in families and working units, and sporadic cases in communities still occurred, Sun said. She noted that epidemic control should not be treated lightly by any means.

She underlined efforts to improve and standardize the procedures concerning sample collection, storage and transportation, and reporting nucleic acid testing results. She also emphasized enhancing the efficiency and expansion of the range of the tests, to resume normal production and life as soon as possible.

Calling for stricter prevention and control in communities and at key venues, Sun also urged further epidemic detection in food transported via cold chains, and more efforts to counter imported risks.