Out of the blue, a rush of coronavirus cases of unknown origin struck Beijing on the weekend, pushing new cases in the country to a two-month high.
The fresh outbreak in the nation’s capital came as a shock, with President Xi Jinping last month applauding the country’s efforts to turn the tide of the epidemic.
Ben Cowling, professor and head of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Hong Kong’s school of public health, said he believed that this was the start of a second wave of coronavirus in the capital.
“I think there must be many more infections in Beijing which are not yet detected,” Cowling said. Beijing reported 36 new local coronavirus cases in the 24 hours to midnight on Saturday, and another eight cases through to 7am on Sunday, all of them linked to the city’s biggest wholesale food market, the city government said on Sunday evening.
The outbreak appears to have started in the Xinfadi market in Fengtai district, though the cause has not been determined. It also is eerily similar to the initial outbreak’s suspected origins in a live animal and seafood market in Wuhan, Hunan province, late last year.
Analysts said the crop of new cases was a warning that continued strict vigilance throughout the country was necessary to prevent further infections.
“Definitely the whole country was starting to loosen up” on preventive measures, said Jia Ping, executive director of the Health Governance Initiative, a think tank in Beijing. “We shouldn’t expect zero cases. The virus as part of our daily life is the new normal.”
This time, authorities were quick to close the Xinfadi market and lock down adjacent neighbourhoods. The government said that about 46,000 residents near the market would be tested for the coronavirus, and samples had already been taken from more than 10,000.
Several districts in the city also raised their alert status and cancelled large public events scheduled for Monday.
Authorities in Beijing have described the city’s coronavirus outbreak as “extremely severe” as dozens more cases emerged, travel from the city was curtailed and its schools and universities shut down.
Beijing residents were told to avoid “non-essential” travel out of the capital, and anyone entering or leaving will be tested for Covid-19.
Additional neighbourhoods were fenced off on Tuesday, with 27 now designated medium risk, which means authorities can impose stricter restrictions on the movement of people and cars and can carry out temperature checks. One has been designated high risk.
“The epidemic situation in the capital is extremely severe,” Beijing city spokesman Xu Hejian warned at a press conference. “Right now we have to take strict measures to stop the spread of Covid-19.”
Entry restrictions have also been brought back in many residential compounds. Health authorities said sealed-off residences and people in quarantine would have food and medicine delivered to them.
Schools, which had recently re-opened, have been ordered to resume online classes, and universities required to suspend the return of their students.
Companies were told to encourage working from home, indoor sports and entertain venues have been shut, and libraries, museums, art galleries and parks must now limit capacity.
Authorities also reported four new domestic infections in neighbouring Hebei province, while a case reported in Sichuan province was linked to the Beijing cluster. Some other cities across China warned they would quarantine arrivals from the capital.
