BEIJING, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Beijing universities are welcoming students back to campus or preparing to reopen for the fall semester with a staggered timetable, local newspaper Beijing Daily reported on Wednesday.

A Beijing municipal leading group office for epidemic prevention and control said earlier this month that colleges in Beijing can decide their respective dates to reopen, starting from Aug. 15, while putting epidemic prevention measures in place.

Undergraduate students at the Beijing University of Chemical Technology already started returning to the campus from Aug. 15 to 17, the Beijing Daily said.

As of Tuesday, the capital city had reported no new domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases for 12 consecutive days since late July when four confirmed cases, related to new infections in northeast China's city of Dalian, were reported. Enditem