Beijing Authorities Warn Risk Of Market-Linked Spread Of COVID-19 Outbreak Very High

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th June, 2020) The risk of further spread of coronavirus in Beijing is very high amid the new COVID-19 cluster at the largest wholesale market in China's capital, Xu Hejian, spokesman for the municipal government and director of its information office, said on Monday.

Beijing authorities announced on Saturday that they had shut down the city's wholesale food market Xinfadi after over 40 people linked to the market tested positive for the coronavirus. The next day, the Chinese capital was put in a "wartime emergency mode." The novel coronavirus was detected on a chopping board for imported salmon. According to the city authorities, all people who work at Xinfadi or visited the place since May 30 will take nucleic acid tests to detect if they are infected with COVID-19.

"There is a very high risk of spreading the epidemic due to the [COVID-19] cluster at the Xinfadi market in Beijing," Xu told reporters.

The city spokesman noted that the authorities would take the most stringent measures, conduct a thorough epidemiological investigation in the market and in the surrounding areas, identify the source of infection, and test people in the hotbed and neighboring areas.

Over 76,000 people were tested for coronavirus on Sunday, 59 of which tested positive, according to the Beijing authorities. However, according to Monday morning's statistics, there were only 42 COVID-19 cases, with 36 of them symptomatic and six asymptomatic. A total of 79 people are currently being treated in the city's hospitals.

Prior to June 11, there were no COVID-19 cases registered in Beijing for 56 days.

The current coronavirus pandemic started in China in December of last year. Initial reports indicated that the start of the COVID-19 epidemic in China was linked to a market in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province.