City officials in the Chinese capital today ordered a test of two million people for coronavirus as the city continued to report new cases less than two weeks before the start of the Winter Olympics.

Beijing city officials said today that two million people will be tested in a neighborhood where they have identified a number of infected people.

Nine locally transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms were discovered yesterday in Beijing, less than 10 days earlier, the National Health Commission said, adding that six of the nine were in the Fengtai metropolitan area. Fengtai will organize testing for all its residents today, according to a statement from the district health authorities.

The city of Beijing has also asked residents to proactively test if they develop symptoms of Covid-19 within 14 days of receiving postal items from abroad, local officials said.

China has urged people to wear masks and gloves when opening mail, especially from abroad, after authorities suggested that the first case of the coronavirus omicron variant found in Beijing could have arrived in a package from Canada.

Cities across China have introduced tougher anti-virus measures in recent weeks as Beijing prepares to host the Winter Olympics early next month. Many cities advise residents not to travel or require travelers to book their trips a few days in advance.

Continental China reported 56 new cases of Covid-19 yesterday, down from 63 a day earlier, according to the country's national health authority.

The National Health Commission said 19 new cases had been transferred locally, less than 23 days earlier, and the rest had been imported. The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to 34 from 43 days earlier. There are no new deaths, so the number of dead is 4636.