With 66 new COVID-19 cases, China records highest daily spike since April

South Korea and Egypt report the return of Coronavirus pandemic as curbs ease

BEIJING: China has reported 66 new coronavirus cases, the largest since the disease was controlled in its first epicentre Wuhan in April, prompting the authorities to go into a "wartime" mode to stem the spread of COVID-19 in the capital Beijing which has seen a sudden spike in the number of infections, health officials said on Sunday.

The officials of the China's National Health Commission (NHC) said that 57 new confirmed COVID-19 infections, including 38 domestically transmitted, were reported on Saturday.

Also on Saturday, nine new asymptomatic cases were reported, it said.

Currently, 103 people with asymptomatic symptoms are kept under quarantine. Asymptomatic cases, also known as silent spreaders, pose a problem as the patients are tested COVID-19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, they pose a risk of spreading the disease to others. Of the domestically transmitted cases, 36 were reported in Beijing and two in Liaoning Province, the NHC said in its daily report.

Beijing has reported 46 cases in the last few days, taking the officials by surprise. As of Saturday, the overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 83,132, including 129 patients who are still being treated, with one in severe condition.

Altogether, 78,369 people have been discharged after recovery and 4,634 people have died of the disease, the NHC said.

Beijing has tightened COVID-19 control measures after the newly confirmed cases by local transmission.

Given the new cases, the city has suspended a major wholesale food and vegetable market and strengthened control measures to resolutely contain the spread of the epidemic. With 46 people testing positive for the novel coronavirus in the last three days in Beijing after a period of lull, officials in the Chinese capital have initiated "wartime" measures, focusing on a wholesale food market where the new cluster of infections were reported from.

The new cases at Xinfadi wholesale food market has raised concern among the people as it supplies 90 per cent of the capital's vegetables and meat products catering to about 20 million people. Along with the Xinfadi market, six other markets were closed on Saturday.

Officials in Beijing found the coronavirus strand on a chopping board of imported salmon at the Xinfadi market following which the fish stocks were removed from Chaoshifa market, Carrefour and Wumart stores in the city.

Forty environmental samples collected at the Xinfadi market also tested positive. Testing of some 10,000 people who had connections to the market began after six confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported on Friday, following a single new confirmed case on Thursday.

The new cases have brought a sense of disquiet in Beijing which in the last two months was being projected as safe. The government went ahead with its ten-day Parliament session and officially relaxed the guard with the municipal council recommending the people to do away with masks.

In response to the emergency, Fengtai district has been put on "wartime" activity with close management of the 11 residential areas around Xinfadi market.

Officials are manning the area at all hours, according to a media report.

The official media here has reported that China Southern flight from Dhaka to Guangzhou was suspended for 4 weeks, after 17 passengers tested positive for the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus infections in South Korea and Egypt has risen, showing how the disease can come back as curbs on business and travel are lifted.

Egypt reported its biggest daily increase on Saturday. Infections were rising in some

US states as President Donald Trump pushed for businesses to reopen despite warnings by public health experts.

The world is seeing more than 100,000 newly confirmed cases every day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

South Korea’s government reported 34 more coronavirus cases, adding to an upward trend in infections.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 30 of the new cases were in the greater Seoul area, where half of the country’s 51 million people live.

New cases have been linked to nightlife establishments, church services, a large-scale e-commerce warehouse and door-to-door sellers.

The Egyptian Health Ministry announced 1,677 new confirmed cases.

Egypt is the Arab world’s most populous country and has its highest coronavirus death toll. The country has reported 1,484 deaths and 42,980 confirmed cases.

In the United States, the number of new cases in the southwestern state of Arizona has risen to more than 1,000 per day from fewer than 400 when the state’s shutdown was lifted in mid-may, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

Gov. Doug Ducey is not requiring Arizona residents to wear masks in pub

lic despite warnings by public health experts outside the government.

Elsewhere, bar owners in New Orleans were preparing to reopen.

San Francisco restaurants resumed outdoor seating on Friday and the California government allowed hotels, zoos, museums and aquariums to reopen.

The states of Utah and Oregon suspended further reopening of their economies due to a spike in cases.

In Europe, France’s highest administrative court ruled Saturday that virus concerns no longer justify banning public protests.

The Council of State’s decision allows for demonstrations and marches as long as health protections are respected. Events must be declared in advance to local authorities and not deemed a risk to public order. The ruling came as an unauthorized protest against police violence and racial injustice wound down in Paris. Police had stopped at

least 15,000 protesters from a planned march through the city Saturday, citing virusrelated restrictions on any gathering of more than 10 people.