People line up to get a nucleic acid test at a hospital in Beijing, China Jan 7, 2021. (Photo: Agencies)

To further strengthen the control and prevention of COVID-19, the Beijing government announced on Friday all 155 venues for religious activities will be closed to the public temporarily and religious events should be suspended.

Wang Haifeng, an official with the city's ethnic and religious affair commission, said the authority will start investigation into illegal religious affairs in Beijing's rural areas to prevent the risk of new clusters at a news conference on Friday afternoon.

"All staff and volunteers in religious organizations and groups will need to obey daily health monitoring rules," he said.

At present, all religious places in Beijing have no confirmed COVID-19 cases or suspected cases reported.

Beijing's Tongzhou district, which borders Hebei province, was announced to have entered "wartime state" starting Thursday, which means all the control and prevention work in the district should be strengthened. However, the official from Tongzhou district told Global Times their "wartime state" is different from the one in Shunyi district, which is the epicenter of Beijing's latest cluster of infections.

Starting Friday, Beijing Daxing International Airport suspended services in its Gu'an terminal, located in Hebei's Gu'an county. Passengers will need to go to the airport's terminal in Daxing in Beijing to check in. Shuttles between Daxing and cities outside Beijing have suspended operations.