BEIJING, Jun 30 (APP):Seven new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases were recorded in the Chinese capital, raising total infections to 324 since June 11, when the first case from Beijing’s Xinfadi market cluster was detected, Beijing Health Commission said on Tuesday.
Out of all seven cases, six were reported in Fengtai and one in Daxing districts of Beijing, the health authority added.
The Chinese capital also registered one asymptomatic case on Monday, the health authority said.
As of Saturday, a total of 104,807 deliverymen in Beijing have received nucleic acid tests and all of them tested negative for COVID-19, the State Post Bureau (SPB) said Tuesday.
The SPB said it will strengthen disinfection at workplaces, enhance health management of deliverymen and upgrade delivery services to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Beijing has doubled the COVID-19 quarantine period from 14 days to 28 as scientists fear that the type of coronavirus that set off Beijing’s recent outbreak in the Xinfadi market may be more contagious than the one in Wuhan.
Most people under quarantine in Beijing are workers from the beef and lamb section of the Xinfadi market, which makes them a high-risk group for COVID-19 infection, Shi Guoqing, an expert from China’s National Health Commission (NHC) told local media.
Shi said some of those who were infected had either shown no symptoms at all or demonstrated atypical symptoms, so it’s hard to judge if they had contracted the virus simply by observing their symptoms.
Moreover, because some infected had an initial negative test result, solely relying on a negative nucleic acid test, and no abnormality being found within 14 days, is not sufficient to confirm if they were infected, said Shi, noting it is possible they would spread the virus to others once allowed to move freely.
Chu Junwei, deputy head of Beijing’s Fengtai district, said that the lockdown period for quarantined persons who were connected with the beef and lamb market section has risen to 28 days.
Shi noted that this group of people will receive a nucleic acid test after being quarantined for 14 days, and another test after the 28-day quarantine, just in case.
Shi said that 33.8 percent of the confirmed cases in Beijing were workers from the beef and lamb section of the Xinfadi market, while 20.5 percent were visitors to this area.