42 new cases of Covid-19 patients have been confirmed in Beijing, the Chinese capital of 20 million residents.
City authorities have decided to reintroduce strict lockdown measures that had been eased as cases of the virus decreased in the recent weeks.
In a strong and unpleasant throwback to the initial outbreak of the now global pandemic, all of the new patients were related with the Xinfadi market. Located in south Beijing, the market is one of the busier markets in the city of Beijing.
Covid-19 is thought to have begun in a wet market located in Wuhan, Hubei province of China. Seafood, meat and vegetables are also handled at the Beijing market, which has since been closed.
The series of events first began on June 3rd, where a visitor to the market who strolled through the meat and seafood section of he market tested positive for the virus. Worryingly, it is unclear how or where this patient zero contacted Covid-19 as he has no travel history of being in contact.
When two more patients who visited or worked in the market positive, the Beijing municipal government decided to shut down the market. Chinese executives claimed that they have conducted more than 5,800 tests on all the employees who work in the market.
Moreover, they proclaimed that they tested more than 2,000 surface samples for any trace of the virus, while asking those who visited the market to voluntarily visit and get tested for the virus. It was through these efforts that they identified 42 symptomatic and 48 asymptomatic patients.
Beginning on Saturday, some of the lockdown measures have returned in the Chinese capital. Tourist hotspots, including the Forbidden Palace and the Great Wall, have been closed. All big group events, from sports to larger gatherings, have been outright banned or strongly discouraged.
Top Chinese epidemiologist said that she believed the virus was transmitted to the patients via the seafood or meat products. Hotels and large food chains have voluntarily agreed to stop serving seafood to customers.
While fears and concerns in and around China rose, the Chinese Communist Party was trying to soothe its people by having an expert tell the state-owned media that Beijing will not repeat the failures of Wuhan.
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Replaced!