Beijing in war-time mode as Covid-19 numbers rise

China continues to be haunted by the coronavirus as the Beijing municipal government tightened prevention measures on Tuesday to contain fresh Covid-19 outbreak in the capital's biggest wholesale food market.

Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Cai Qi, said on Tuesday said that city is in a "critical situation," and prevention measures against the virus should be the highest priority, state broadcaster CGTN said.

Beijing's municipal government said that the city was in "war-time mode" to tackle the new outbreak, and more than 100,000 workers are monitoring 7,120 neighbourhoods to prevent the infection from spreading.

In recent days, Beijing had reported 106 people, now considered high risk, who have been asked not to leave the capital for risk of spreading the infection in other parts of China. Those who have already left the capital have been asked to inform the authorities.

More than 29 neighbourhoods around the Xinfadi market and Yuquandong have been sealed and the residents put under security controls. Also, Beijing authorities have banned transport services from leaving the city.

Health authorities reported 27 new confirmed cases on Monday in the city, which is testing anyone who has had contact with confirmed cases or who have visited the Xinfadi food market, which has been closed since Saturday.

Around 200,000 people visited the market since May 30 and have been interviewed through home visits, calls and social media platforms along with other measures, Xinhua news agency reported.

The worsening situation in the city prompted other regional governments to impose quarantine on those coming from Beijing, the Chinese media reported, adding that a confirmed case in Sichuan had traveled from the capital.

Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan on Sunday urged decisive measures to stop the spread of the fresh outbreak, along with strict epidemiological investigations and comprehensive tracing to identify and control the source of infection.

He also called on residents to strictly comply with the prevention measures and quarantine for suspected cases.

The city has also intensified the inspection of markets for fresh produce, frozen pork, beef, lamb and poultry products, and other businesses, including supermarkets and restaurants, are being examined to ensure that no products contaminated with the virus are circulating..