Parts of Beijing locked down as virus outbreak gathers fresh pace

All indoor sports and entertainment venues are shut down in China’s capital as authorities race to contain a coronavirus outbreak linked to a wholesale food market, with some neighborhoods placed under completed lockdown.

Tens of thousands of people are also targeted in a massive test and trace program, as the number of cases from the new Beijing cluster increased to 79.

The outbreak comes after China had largely brought the virus under control following its emergence in a central Chinese city late last year, highlighting the enduring dangers for the rest of the world about a second wave of the pandemic.

Indoor sports and entertainment venues across Beijing have been ordered to close, the municipal party committee says at a press conference Monday.

City official Xu Ying tells reporters that all areas must “strengthen public space disinfection and temporarily close sports and recreation indoor facilities,” as well as increasing temperature checks and forbidding non-residents from entering communities.

Earlier today health officials reported 49 new coronavirus cases nationwide, including 36 more in Beijing where a cluster linked to the Xinfadi market in the south of the city has fueled fears of a second wave of infections.

— AFP