New coronavirus cases in Beijing are under control, chief epidemiologist says

New coronavirus cases in Beijing are under control, according to Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Thursday, Wu announces that the capital’s coronavirus outbreak is now being managed by authorities.

During a press briefing, he explained that there may be fresh coronavirus cases in coming days, but they would likely be identified during testing.

The new coronavirus cases in Beijing emerged after more than 50 days without domestically transmitted Covid-19 cases the city.

By Monday, there are 106 new confirmed cases in Beijing. The city announced 21 new cases for Wednesday, a decline from 31 the day before, according to Reuters.

Most of the new Covid-19 cases can be traced back to a huge wholesale market called Xinfadi, which is located on the city outskirts, about 9 miles southwest of Tiananmen Square at the center of Beijing.

“The epidemic in Beijing has been brought under control,” said Wu, according to a Reuters translation. “When I say that it’s under control, that doesn’t mean the number of cases will turn zero tomorrow or the day after.”

“The trend will persist for a period of time, but the number of cases will decrease, just like the trend that we saw (in Beijing) in January and February.”

Wartime emergency mode

Chu Junwei, an official of Beijing’s southwestern Fengtai district, said that the district has been on a “wartime emergency mode” since the new cases appeared. The local authorities locked down residential houses and has since increased its alert setting, ordered the closure of schools, and imposed limited travel.

The announcement helped push stock futures higher but still in negative zone.

The coronavirus pandemic has infected over 8 million people and killed nearly 450,000 people since the outbreak that stated in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2021. The resurgence of the Covid-19 cases in China’s capital fueled more uncertainties for businesses and consumers and weighed on global investor sentiment.

Strict lockdowns

The rise of new cases prompted Beijing to impose lockdowns.

Officials placed more residential compounds in lockdown mode. They disinfected over 30,000 restaurants and implemented outbound travel restrictions.

According to the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, there are 27 fresh Covid-19 cases. The five-day total became 106 following a new outbreak at Xinfadi, the largest wholesale food market in the city.

The market, located in Fengtai district and covers 277 acres, is brimming with over 2,000 stalls. There are stores of fruit, vegetables, meat, and seafood. Officials say the market provides about 70% of the city’s vegetables and 10% of its pork.

The market has been closed since Saturday. However, its size and the number of people who work there coming from Beijing increased the risk of the outbreak spreading.

Officials were able to trace nearly 200,000 people who went to the market during the two weeks prior to its closure. They will have to stay at home but are under medical observation. They will also be tested for the coronavirus, according to a city official told a news conference on Monday.

WHO's recommendation

More scientists must probe coronavirus disease clusters, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) in light of new cases in China.

“The answers lie in careful, systematic, exhaustive investigation of disease clusters to really look at what is happening in these situations and what is causing the amplification of the disease in the human context,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s emergencies program, during a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland.