BEIJING, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese capital will lower its emergency response to the novel coronavirus epidemic from the top level to the second level starting April 30, a local official announced Wednesday.

The decision was made after the city had seen no new confirmed local or imported COVID-19 cases for 13 consecutive days, said Chen Bei, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing municipal government, at a press conference.

On Jan. 24, Beijing activated the highest level of public health emergency response to contain the outbreak of the epidemic. Enditem