Swift action in Beijing may avoid new wave of COVID-19

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Breaking the mum regarding second wave of COVID-19, an official said that Beijing was passing through an important test in its fight against the pandemic and if, not handled well, it could lead to a second wave of the outbreak. China reported as many as 19 new imported COVID-19 infections and 38 domestic cases on June 13.

"Like the rest of the country, most of the population in Beijing is susceptible to COVID-19. Fortunately Beijing has found it early and moved fast," Zeng Guang, the chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, responded. 

He warned through the Chinese media on June 13 that the Beijing regional outbreak could bring about a second wave. 

“The test that Beijing is going through is the biggest ever one after that the whole country had experienced a calm period. Two samples have already been tested, and more are needed to determine where the epidemic is headed,” he noted. 

Chen Xi, an associate professor of public health at Yale University, also suggested making a comparison of types of viral gene sequencing from different countries, to determine whether the virus detected in Beijing is from the origin nations of salmon. 

The novel coronavirus was detected on a chopping board used by a seller of imported salmon at Xinfadi market. China imports about 80,000 tons of chilled and frozen salmon each year, mainly from Chile, Norway, Faroe Islands, Australia and Canada, according to news portal Jiemian.com. 

A preliminary investigation showed those confirmed cases may have been in contact with the contaminated environment at the Xinfadi market or had contact with people who were affected, Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of Beijing municipal center for disease prevention and control, said at a press conference in Beijing on June 13. 

Among the 19 imported cases, 17 were reported in South China's Guangdong Province, with 14 from Bangladesh and three from India. Four asymptomatic cases were also reported, all in Guangdong with three from Bangladesh and one from Egypt, according to data from the Chinese National Health Commission. 

The 14 patients and three silent carriers from Bangladesh all arrived in Guangzhou on China Southern Airlines flight CZ392 from Dhaka to Guangzhou on June 11, which prompted the Chinese aviation regulator to suspend the route for four weeks from June 22 in accordance with the latest policy. 

Meanwhile, sporadic cases of infection keep emerging from different Beijing clusters, as a bus driver at Beijing's civil aviation airport shuttle bus company has been confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus, officials revealed on June 14. 

The man, aged 56, living in Yongning Hutong in Beijing's Xicheng district, visited Xinfadi market on June 3. He felt discomfort two days later, which developed into a fever on June 12 and he visited Xuanwu Hospital, People's Hospital and Haidian Hospital later the same day where he was eventually diagnosed as having COVID-19. 

Meanwhile, the local administration, on June 14, ordered in Beijing Haidian district, the suspension of sales of products, including meat, sea food purchased from high-risk markets such as Xinfadi. Haidian district hosts country’s many top class universities.