The sudden reappearance of the virus in Beijing, previously considered among the safest cities in the country, led to the possibility of a second wave of infections and the possible reappearance of sweeping interlocks that previously stopped and beaten most of the country. Economy.

“Wartime” measures

Authorities strictly forbidden anyone from entering or leaving, locked in 11 residential compounds near the market. The residents’ temperatures will be checked and reported daily, their food and daily needs will be met.

Beijing also installed mass nucleic acid tests for coronavirus by installing 193 sampling booths across the city. At a press conference on Monday, Xu said that over 76,000 people were tested on Sunday and 59 people tested positive.

Nucleic acid tests work by detecting the virus’s genetic code and may be earlier in detecting an infection, especially in the early stages, although it is more effective than tests that examine the body’s immune response.

Fengtai district collected samples from 8,950 people working in the Xinfadi market. According to Xu, more than 6,000 samples have been tested so far, and the results are all negative.

Authorities also collected and collected samples from nearly 30,000 people released in the 14 days prior to its closure. Xu said all of the 12,000 tests performed so far show negative results.

The Beijing government ordered everyone to visit the market and stay home for two weeks for medical observation during close contact. It also delayed the resumption of classes for elementary school students, originally scheduled for Monday.

Following the outbreak, some local officials were dismissed, including vice president of the Fengtai district.

The epidemic does not come back for the first time. In May, some places in the northeast of the country quickly locked tightly after imported cases caused outbreaks among local communities.

However, before the new cluster, Beijing recorded only 420 local infections and 9 deaths compared to over 80,000 confirmed cases and 4,634 deaths across the country, thanks to tight travel restrictions at the start of the pandemic.

As in the rest of the country, life in Beijing has begun to return to normal, businesses and schools have reopened and returned to crowded shopping malls, restaurants and parks.

Tracking the source

The outbreak in Beijing will be the latest test of China’s coronavirus retention strategy.

However, Beijing officials are still trying to monitor the source of the final epidemic, which promised to carry out “strictest epidemiological investigations”.

The head of the market, Zhang Yuxi, told government-run Beijing News on Friday that the virus was detected on a chopping board used by the imported salmon vendor on the market, causing a fear of wider contamination. According to Beijing Daily, several supermarket chains removed salmon from their shelves.