#Beijing in ‘wartime emergency mode’ after new coronavirus cluster emerges

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Chinese police guard the entrance to the closed Xinfadi market in Beijing today.
Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images

Beijing is in “wartime emergency mode” after a new cluster of coronavirus cases was detected at one of the continent’s biggest markets in the southwestern corner of the city, officials said.

Out of 517 people tested at the Xinfadi market, 45 turned out to have COVID-19, district official Chu Junwei said Saturday, while announcing the market would be shut down and tourism and sports events banned in the capital, Reuters reported.

More than 10 neighborhoods surrounding Xinfadi — which claims to be the largest wholesale food market in Asia — were also locked down with 24/7 guards in place.

“In accordance with the principle of putting the safety of the masses and health first, we have adopted lockdown measures for the Xinfadi market and surrounding neighborhoods,” Chu said, adding officials were in “wartime emergency mode.”

None of the people who tested positive were showing symptoms, Chu said.

Restaurants across China stopped serving food containing raw seafood or animal products following reports in state media that the virus was detected on chopping boards used for imported salmon at the market.

On Saturday, officials were casing the neighborhood for new infections. A Reuters reporter said a government worker knocked on the door of her home asking if she had visited the market, where 1,500 tons of seafood, 18,000 tons of vegetables and 20,000 tons of fruit are traded daily.

With Post wires