A second wave of COVID-19 from Beijing spreads to Liaoning

A second wave of COVID-19 from Beijing spreads to Liaoning

Beijing has recorded new positive cases of COVID-19 as the second wave of the infection hits China. The city had almost eradicated the virus according to their official statements, having no new case for almost two months, but since June 12 new cases have been coming out in the recent past in relation to Xinfadi, the largest wholesale food market in Asia, revoking the diseases once again. The total number of cases on Sunday reached 59. According to the official website of the market, more than 1,500 tonnes of seafood, 20,000 tonnes of fruits and 18,000 tonnes of vegetables are traded here on a daily basis.

The city's health authority stated that contact tracing showed that all the infected people till now have either worked in the market or went to shop there or have been in contact with someone who went to the market recently. The market has been kept closed since Sunday and the district in which the market is situated has put itself on a "wartime" footing.

The outbreak has already spread from Beijing to the northeastern province of Liaoning. Healthcare authorities stated that on Sunday, two new positive cases were confirmed in Liaoning. Both the people had been in contact with positive cases in Beijing.

Citizens from 10 other cities including Harbin and Dalian who have traveled to Beijing in the recent past, have been asked to report to the respected authorities and others have been urged to not travel to the capital anytime sooner. Xu Hejian, the city spokesperson at a news conference on Sunday said, "Beijing has entered an extraordinary period."

Huaxiang, a province in the same district as Xinfadi, on Sunday, became the only neighbourhood in the country to be on high alert. There will be no further economic activity until the outbreak is brought under control. 10 other neighbourhoods of Beijing, including Financial Street, have raised their risk levels from low to medium.

Yang Peng, an epidemiologist in Beijing stated on Sunday that the DNA sequencing of the virus found in the latest outbreak stands a chance of coming from Europe. "Our preliminary assessment is that the virus came from overseas. We still can't determine how it got here. It might've been on contaminated seafood or meat, or spread from the faeces of people inside the market," he added.

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