Published 15:11 IST, June 19th 2020
Coronavirus outbreak 'under control' in Beijing, says China's chief epidemiologist
While the state commenced testing hundreds of thousands exposed to the COVID-19 after the outbreak, the Chinese officials rushed to contain outbreak in Beijing.
Beijing’s coronavirus outbreak has been brought under control, the chief epidemiologist of China’s Center for Diseases Prevention and Control has said. Wu Zunyou said at a state press address that the latest outbreak in Beijing was now under control, adding, that the new cases might emerge from time to time as the contract tracing and the testing was in progress.
While the state commenced testing hundreds of thousands exposed to the COVID-19 after the outbreak, the Chinese officials rushed to contain the outbreak after as many as six cases emerged that surged the count to 106 new cases this week. On 17 June, 21 new confirmed cases were detected China’s health authority said, down from 31 reported the day earlier, as per local reports. An official of Beijing’s southwestern Fengtai district, Chu Junwei, was quoted as saying that the newer cluster put the district and the health authorities on a “wartime emergency mode.” Traced back to the Xinfadi wholesale produce market, which is located on the outskirts of the capital, the outbreak elevated fears of the second wave of infection.
1,255 inbound and outbound flights cancelled
However, on June 18, the health authorities announced that the outbreak had been brought under control after it spread to nine of the city’s 17 districts. As per reports, at least 1,255 inbound and outbound flights were cancelled. Further, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Municipal People’s Government, Chen Bei, was quoted saying that Beijing now faces serious danger of imported cases and spread in the city and the country. Under the new emergency level, businesses and factories were instructed to shut down to stem the spread of the disease.
Earlier, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had called the increase in new cases in other parts of the world “deeply concerning.” As in many areas in China, lockdowns has been lifted, and life has returned to normalcy, the Chinese authorities lately shifted to models of monitored surveillance instead of total quarantine before reports of fresh outbreak scrambled the city with mass testing and contact detection in place to stem the spread.
(images Credit: AP)
Updated 15:11 IST, June 19th 2020