China¡¯s capital, Beijing, has yet again gone into lockdown after a?fresh cluster of coronavirus cases linked to anearby meat market, came to light. Seven cases have so far been linked to the Xinfadi meat market,six of them confirmed. Nine nearby schools and kindergartens have been closed.
Beijing authorities had earlier halted beef and muttontrading at the Xinfadi market, alongside closures at other wholesale marketsaround the city, reports Reuters.
Reflecting concerns over the risk of further spread of thevirus, major supermarkets in Beijing removed salmon from their shelves.
The chairman of the Xinfadi meat wholesale market toldstate-run Beijing News, that the virus was detected on chopping boards used tohandle imported salmon, stoking fears over the hygiene of Beijing's foodsupply.
Beijing authorities have announced a mass COVID-19 testingcampaign of anyone who has had "close contact" with the Xinfadimarket since May 30, after they tested over 5,000 environmental samples fromfarmers' markets and large supermarkets across the city on Friday. Of those,all 40 positive samples came from Xinfadi market.
Nearly 2,000 wholesale market workers in Beijing were alsotested for the virus on Friday, authorities said.
Beijing authorities said more than 10,000 people at themarket will take nucleic acid tests to detect coronavirus infections. The citygovernment also said it had dropped plans to reopen schools on Monday forstudents in grades one through three, because of the new cases.
Health authorities visited the home of a Reuters reporter inBeijing's Dongcheng district on Saturday, to ask whether she had visited theXinfadi market, which is 15 km (9 miles) away. They said the visit was part ofpatrols Dongcheng was conducting.
The National Health Commission said that five imported caseswere reported elsewhere in China in the last 24 hours, bringing the daily totalto 11 and the nationwide cumulative total to 83,075. The death toll remainedunchanged at 4,634.
Agency Inputs: Reuters/AFP