The new local COVID-19 case reported on Friday in Beijing's Chaoyang district was likely caused by contact with contaminated imported cold chain food, a senior official said at a news conference on Sunday afternoon.

"The virus sequence of the new case is the Omicron BA.2 variant, which is different from the recent domestic and foreign virus sequences," said Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control. "It's highly possible that the latest case has the same source as the Omicron BA.2 variant outbreak reported in mid-February overseas this year."

She suggested locals reduce their purchases of imported cold chain food from countries and regions affected by COVID-19 outbreaks.