Health

Beijing market outbreak in its final stage, authorities say

Beijing, June 23 (efe-epa).- The coronavirus cluster which originated in the Xinfadi wholesale market in Beijing is in its final stage, Chinese authorities said on Tuesday.

According to the latest report by the National Health Commission, 22 Covid-19 cases were registered on Monday, of which 13 were recorded in Beijing.

The outbreak which was detected in Asia’s largest fresh food market of Xinfadi has so far left 245 confirmed infections but authorities have said it is now under control thanks to the containment measures that have been rolled out, including mass testing.

As of Monday, 2.34 million Beijing residents had been tested, over 10 percent of the city’s population, and 480 mobile testing labs had been deployed.

Feng Zijian, Deputy Director-General of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told the state broadcaster on Tuesday that if “the curve of frequency, composition and provenance of cases” is analyzed, contagion among people exposed to the market is reaching its “final stage”.

Feng said that infections will continue to be registered because those who were infected after direct exposure to the market have brought the virus back to their communities, although in these cases “the level of transmission is very low”.

“The outbreak could be controlled because it was detected very early and because the control measures had a positive result, so its community spread was effectively controlled,” authorities at the CDC added.

More than 100,000 home delivery workers in the Chinese capital have undergone coronavirus tests in the last five days, owing to the large volume of contact with people they incur.

Official press on Tuesday confirmed a delivery driver from the Ele.me platform who had made an average of 50 deliveries in recent days had tested positive.

Authorities have demanded that companies provide basic health safety training to workers and that they provide them with protective equipment including face masks.

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