Coronavirus: ten new quarantined neighborhoods in Beijing

Ten new residential areas have been quarantined in Beijing, the mayor said on Monday, as the Chinese capital has counted 36 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours.

The city has discovered new cases of contamination in a wholesale market in the northwest of the capital, in the Haidian district, after having closed last week a gigantic market of fresh products in the south of the metropolis, in the Fengtai district. Eleven residential areas had been quarantined in this area.

After practically stemming the epidemic since March, China, where the Covid-19 appeared in late 2019, experienced a resurgence in the number of cases of contamination over the weekend, centered around the giant Xinfadi market, in the south of the capital. The market was closed except for the fruit and vegetable sector.

The authorities have initiated a massive screening of market workers and visitors, as well as residents of the sector, more than 10,000 of which have already been tested.

Avoid the capital

In the past 24 hours, 49 new cases have been counted across the country, including 36 in Beijing, the metropolis of more than 20 million people who had so far been relatively spared from the epidemic. Since Friday, Beijing has had 75 new cases of contamination. Several cities in the country now advise their residents to avoid the capital.

Three cases were also announced Monday in the neighboring province of Hebei. The other ten cases were found in people from foreign countries.

Nationally, 18 cases without symptoms were also counted. The government does not include these cases in its total statistics. In total, China has counted since the beginning of the epidemic more than 83,000 cases of contamination, including 4,634 fatal.