A takeaway deliveryman passes by a medical worker at a hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Jan. 31, 2020.

Beijing has designated the new China International Exhibition Center in the suburb of Shunyi as a temporary transit point for travelers from epidemic-hit countries, as the capital city faces mounting pressure to contain the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak due to the surge in imported cases.

Low-risk travelers without fever and cough symptoms will use this center as a transit point to be escorted back to their respective home provinces and municipalities, Pang Xinghuo, vice director of Beijing's Center of Disease Control, told a press conference on Thursday.

Temporary medical centers have also been set up at the center to detect whether people entering in Beijing show symptoms of fever, cough and other abnormalities, Pang said. 

An official from Shunyi district said it only took 14 hours to plan and put the center into operation. On Tuesday, the first group of travelers was dispatched to the point and the center has so far been operating smoothly. 

The transit point is neither a medical quarantine site nor a makeshift hospital, the official said.

The new exhibition centre is eight kilometers away from Beijing Capital International Airport, and has convenient transportation connections. The open internal space and good ventilation make it conducive for closed management. The nearest community is 560 meters away and the farthest is about 1 km, which will minimize the impact on surrounding residents, the official said. 

Beijing is treating foreigners in the city in the same way as Chinese residents by including them in the community health management system and promoting epidemic-related knowledge.

When foreigners enter Beijing and their communities, they are required to register their basic information, report their health condition and learn about Beijing's epidemic control policies, Zhang Qiang, an official with Beijing's prevention working group, told a press conference on Monday.

Global Times