The Chinese capital Beijing is witnessing a new virus outbreak, which is believed to have originated from the city’s largest wholesale market, Xinfadi. Over the last five days, Beijing has reported more than 100 new domestically transmitted coronavirus cases in the fresh outbreak. As it tries to contain the new outbreak, Beijing has put more than 20 communities in the city under lockdown and tested tens of thousands of people.
The fresh outbreak has sparked concern among health experts. Mike Ryan, the WHO’s emergencies programme head, said that the emergence of new clusters is always a concern – especially when the origin of the cluster is not recognised. He stressed on the need for an immediate response and comprehensive set of measures to control outbreak.
All new domestic infections have been linked to the Xinfadi market. As per media reports, over 8,000 workers from the market have been tested and sent to centralised quarantine facilities. This is really a cause of concern as Beijing had only registered imported cases for more than seven weeks from Chinese nationals returning home.
Source of the new outbreak
According to local media reports, the virus was discovered on chopping boards used for imported salmon at the Xinfadi market. As the news spread, major supermarkets in Beijing removed the fish from their shelves. This also led to the dismissal of the general manager of the market, along with other local officials.
The WHO’s Mike Ryan said that the suggestion it was carried on salmon or its packaging was only a “hypothesis”, but it needs to be explored. Some health experts have also opined that the fish itself was unlikely to carry the disease. If there’s any link to salmon, it may be due to cross-contamination, they stated.
China is a major importer of seafood and meat. Following the claim that the new virus outbreak might have been caused by imports or packaging of salmon, the country has halted purchases from European salmon suppliers.
New virus strain
The virus strain found in Beijing did not resemble the type circulating across the rest of the country – as per the chief epidemiologist of China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The WHO has asked China to share the genetic sequencing of the strain.
According to Ryan, the WHO is closely tracking the outbreak with the help of Beijing authorities. The UN agency has also offered more technical help to China to control the new outbreak.
Meanwhile, the Xinfadi market has been shut down and restrictions have been imposed on nearby neighbourhoods. About 200,000 people had visited the market since the end of May, a state news outlet reported. These people have been contacted and nearly 200 testing sites have been set up in Beijing, the report said. Indoor sports and entertainment venues, and many schools in the city were shut down on Monday. Some other cities across China have decided to quarantine those arriving from Beijing.