Beijing Goes Into Lockdown Again, Fears Second COVID-19 Wave After Spike From Meat Market
Beijing authorities have announced a mass COVID-19 testing campaign of anyone who has had contact with the Xinfadi market since May 30. The virus was detected on chopping boards used to handle imported salmon.
China¡¯s capital, Beijing, has yet again gone into lockdown after a fresh cluster of coronavirus cases linked to a
nearby 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.
Image For Representation
Beijing authorities had earlier halted beef and mutton trading at the Xinfadi market, alongside closures at other wholesale markets around the city, reports Reuters.
Reflecting concerns over the risk of further spread of the virus, major supermarkets in Beijing removed salmon from their shelves.
The chairman of the Xinfadi meat wholesale market told state-run Beijing News, that the virus was detected on chopping boards used to handle imported salmon, stoking fears over the hygiene of Beijing's food supply.
Video: A large number of armed police and police officers are seen stationing outside the #Xinfadi market in Fengtai District, #Beijing at 2 pm Saturday. Residential communities near the market are now in lockdown. pic.twitter.com/dHicQYrCzV
¡ª Global Times (@globaltimesnews) June 13, 2020
Beijing authorities have announced a mass COVID-19 testing campaign of anyone who has had "close contact" with the Xinfadi market since May 30, after they tested over 5,000 environmental samples from farmers' markets and large supermarkets across the city on Friday. Of those, all 40 positive samples came from Xinfadi market.
AP
Nearly 2,000 wholesale market workers in Beijing were also tested for the virus on Friday, authorities said.
Beijing authorities said more than 10,000 people at the market will take nucleic acid tests to detect coronavirus infections. The city government also said it had dropped plans to reopen schools on Monday for students in grades one through three, because of the new cases.
Update: Of 517 samples taken from Xinfadi market, 45 people were positive. Beijing now started tracking those who have been to the market. 11 residential areas around Xinfadi have been closed. Checkpoints in all residential areas resumed today after being cancelled for a week. pic.twitter.com/8DiCsbKimP
¡ª Secret Beijing (@Secret_Beijing) June 13, 2020
Health authorities visited the home of a Reuters reporter in Beijing's Dongcheng district on Saturday, to ask whether she had visited the Xinfadi market, which is 15 km (9 miles) away. They said the visit was part of patrols Dongcheng was conducting.
The detection of novel coronavirus on the chopping board of a #salmon seller at Beijing¡¯s Xinfadi Market sparks public worry over food safety, triggering some supermarkets in the city to remove salmon. https://t.co/NLOLTschT0 pic.twitter.com/i1LZCndhpr
¡ª Global Times (@globaltimesnews) June 13, 2020
The National Health Commission said that five imported cases were reported elsewhere in China in the last 24 hours, bringing the daily total to 11 and the nationwide cumulative total to 83,075. The death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.
Agency Inputs: Reuters/AFP
