China reports 57 new virus cases, highest daily count since April

BEIJING (AFP, REUTERS) - China reported 57 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday (June 14), the highest daily figure since April, as concerns grow about a resurgence of the disease.

The domestic outbreak in China had been brought largely under control through strict lockdowns that were imposed early this year - but a new outbreak has been linked to a meat and vegetable market in south Beijing.

The National Health Commission said 36 of the new cases were domestic infections in the capital.

The other two domestic infections reported Sunday were in north-eastern Liaoning province, and local health officials said they were close contacts of the Beijing cases.

The capital should expand the scope of nucleic acid testing for the virus, a city government spokesman said on Sunday (June 14). He told a news conference Beijing has entered an "extraordinary period" with the large jump in cases.

The alert was sounded after the NHC confirmed the first cases in Beijing for two months on Friday and city officials delayed the return of students in primary schools that had not already resumed classes.

One of Sunday's new cases was a 56-year-old man who works as an airport bus driver and had visited the Xinfadi market before falling ill, the state-run People's Daily reported.

He developed a fever a week later and was diagnosed with Covid-19, the newspaper said.

The meat section of the huge, sprawling market was closed Sunday and AFP reporters saw hundreds of police officers and security personnel plus dozens of paramilitary police blocking access to the area.

Officials have said that everyone who works at the market and lives in surrounding neighbourhoods has to undergo testing, as well as other residents who have visited the market since May 30.

A vegetable market adjacent to Xinfadi was open on Sunday and trucks were arriving to deliver or collect stock.

One driver said he was collecting crates of mushrooms to take to supermarkets and restaurants in Beijing, his surgical mask pulled down under his chin.

"Afraid? Not really" the man surnamed Zhang told AFP. "But anyway I have no choice - I am part of the lowest class of society. So I have to keep working in order to make a living."

Covid-19 was first detected late last year in a market in the central city of Wuhan that sold wild animals for meat.

The latest outbreak in Beijing has turned the spotlight on the hygiene of the city's food supply chain.

State-run media reported that the virus was detected on chopping boards used to handle imported salmon, and that major supermarkets had removed the fish from their stocks.

Beijing authorities ordered a city-wide food safety inspection focusing on fresh and frozen meat, poultry and fish in supermarkets, warehouses and catering services.

One trader surnamed Sun, selling tomatoes and cherries at a local food market in central Beijing, told AFP on Sunday that there were fewer customers than normal.

"People are scared," he said. "The meat sellers have had to close. This disease is really scary."

Although the Xinfadi market accounts for much of the capital's food supply, Sun said that it didn't affect him as he gets his produce directly from farmers.

Others were less concerned.

"Business is as usual on my stand," a fruit and vegetable seller surnamed Liu told AFP. "I'm not particularly afraid of this new outbreak."

She said it was "reassuring" that the areas around Xinfadi had been locked down.

And 32-year-old shopper Song Weiming told AFP: "As long as you wear a face mask, it should be fine... Anyway, I have to buy food, right?"

Nine nearby schools and kindergartens have been closed and Beijing has delayed the return of students to primary schools.

Sporting events, group dining and cross-provincial tour groups have also been stopped.

The rest of the cases reported Sunday were brought into the country by Chinese nationals returning home from overseas.

The 19 other infections reported on Sunday were all imported cases, including 17 travellers on a China Southern flight from Bangladesh.

Owing to the high number of cases, the aviation regulator said the Dhaka-Guangzhou route would be suspended for four weeks.

The Civil Aviation Authority of China has imposed dramatic limits on flights in and out of the country and had warned routes would be halted if needed.