Beijing (dpa) - For the first time in many weeks, Beijing is experiencing a major outbreak of the corona virus. In the initial 500 tests, 45 infections were found in a wholesale market in the Chinese capital.
The Xinfadi market in the Fengtai district, which supplies around 90 percent of the vegetables and fruits of the 20 million metropolis, was closed. In the area, eleven residential areas were closed off and kindergartens and schools closed. Around 10,000 dealers and employees of the market are to be tested.
Investigators have traced the virus back to a chopping board that was used to process imported salmon, the head of the Beijing Qingnianbao Beijing Wholesale Market reported. The salmon came from another seafood market. Many supermarkets then took imported salmon off their shelves. The Xinfadi wholesale market is to be "comprehensively" disinfected. Other markets also closed their doors to be examined.
Previously, the national health commission had reported six local infections nationwide - all in Beijing. The new cases are the first in Beijing for more than a month and a half. Four came from the Xinfadi market, which was the focus of the investigation. According to local media, the 45 people who have now been diagnosed initially do not show any symptoms.
The Global Times newspaper cited experts who believe that the closing of the market is likely to affect food supplies to the capital. The capital had been particularly protected since the pandemic in Wuhan in central China six months ago, and was also more isolated than other cities from the rest of the country. The security precautions were stricter than anywhere else and were only relaxed a few weeks ago.
Global Times