More than 1,200 flights going in and out of Beijing have been canceled as a new coronavirus outbreak in China’s capital grows.
The number of confirmed cases of the illness in Beijing reached at least 137 this week, a dramatic increase after months of no reported cases, according to the New York Post. The city has closed all schools and 11 markets in an attempt to stop a potentially enormous explosion of cases in the densely populated city of 22 million.
A total of 1,255 flights were canceled by Wednesday, a figure that amounts to about 67% of outgoing flights and 68% of incoming flights.
“The risk of the outbreak spreading is huge, and controlling it is difficult,” Pang Xinghuo, a senior disease control official, said. “[We] can’t rule out the possibility the number of cases will persist for a period of time.”
The city has also introduced “medium” and “high-risk” areas in parts of Beijing. Residents who live within the areas are banned from leaving. Beijing’s emergency threat level, a four-tiered system, was also raised from level three to level two.
“This has truly rung an alarm bell for us,” said Cai Qi, the Communist Party secretary of Beijing. Cai added that he has “extremely grave” concerns about the newest outbreak.
Some traces of COVID-19 were discovered on a salmon cutting board in the Xinfadi food market. Some restaurants in the capital have reportedly stopped selling imported salmon, given the news.
China was the first country to be hit by the coronavirus pandemic after the virus first originated late last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. Since the pandemic began, some 8.2 million people have been infected, and at least 444,000 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
