BEIJING -- Beijing authorities on Tuesday told hospitals to avoid closing important departments, such as emergency and maternity departments, even if they have been hit by COVID-19 cases.

Departments including emergency, dialysis units, operating rooms, intensive care units, delivery rooms, maternity and neonatal units must not be closed unless absolutely necessary, said Wang Xiao'e, spokesperson for the Beijing Municipal Health Commission.

Closed-off management in virus-hit hospitals must be shortened to the minimum and should be lifted as soon as possible, Wang told a press conference.

She also said hospitals must not turn down hemodialysis patients, pregnant women, children and patients seeking radiotherapy or first aid if they fail to present nucleic acid test results.

The Chinese capital has been optimizing its COVID-19 control measures to minimize its impact on people's livelihoods. It has demanded that closed-off management be lifted in a timely manner for eligible residential complexes and has allowed epidemic-affected supermarkets to reopen after one day of closure.

The city government has also banned barricading building gates and residential-complex entries in high-risk areas, demanding that passages remain clear for medical transportation, emergency escapes and rescues.

Beijing reported 957 local confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 3,429 local asymptomatic cases on Monday, compared with 840 and 3,048 on Sunday.