China: New coronavirus cases lead to lockdown again in Beijing; second wave feared

A fresh cluster of coronavirus cases linked to a meat and vegetable market in China’s south Beijing has led to the lockdown of several parts of the national capital, including eleven residential estates.

Concerns over resurgence of the viral infection have grown as 57 new cases of coronavirus were reported in China on Sunday. 36 of the new cases were domestic infections in Beijing, according to the National Health Commission. The other infections were registered in the northeastern Liaoning province, who supposedly came in contact with the Beijing cases. As a result, nine local schools and kindergartens have been closed. The domestic outbreaks that originated in Wuhan were brought under complete control over a month ago and the most recent cases in the country were that of overseas nationals who tested positive for the virus upon return. The fresh cases have prompted Beijing officials to suspend all sporting events and group dining, in addition to the shut down of schools. Two markets were also closed on Friday by city authorities. The chairman of the Xinfadi meat wholesale market reportedly told state-run Beijing News that “the virus was detected on chopping boards used to handle imported salmon.” According to reports, Beijing’s market supervision authorities have also ordered a city-wide food safety inspection focusing on fresh and frozen meat, poultry and fish in supermarkets, warehouses and catering services.

Covid-19 has claimed the lives of more than 432510 people and infected over 7875930 people across the world. The virus was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, in China. As the death toll and overall cases began rising rapidly across the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency and the outbreak has now been labelled a pandemic.