Beijing market at centre of second wave alarm reopens

THE wholesale food market in Beijing that was linked to a cluster of coronavirus cases in June is set to reopen today with a string of measures in place to prevent another outbreak.

Xinfadi market closed on June 13 after being linked to 335 coronavirus cases, including among workers from its beef, lamb and seafood section, raising fears of a second wave in China. Beijing reacted quickly, closing the market, banning tourism to the capital city and putting the district on a “wartime” lockdown footing.

Authorities suggested the virus had been brought in to Xinfadi on imported frozen salmon, prompting largely unrealised fears that surface transmission could be a major problem.

However, markets like Xinfadi have played a major role in transmission, including at the beginning of the outbreak in Wuhan at the end of last year, with some initial cases traced to the Huanan Seafood Market.

The pandemic has since killed 760,000 people and infected more than 21 million. Xinfadi – the largest seafood and agricultural market in Asia – will only initially open at 60 per cent capacity, selling fruits and vegetables. All buyers and sellers will have to be pre-approved via electronic registration before entering the market, and only its wholesale section will open, while its retail and underground trading hall will stay shut.

Before the pandemic, 60,000 customers a day visited the market, which supplied much of the groceries sold in

Beijing. It is not expected to reopen fully before Sept 10.

Goods entering the market will also be registered online with details including their origin, volume and quality control qualification. Personnel will confirm the details of the products before trading takes place, and deals will be recorded. The market’s partial reopening came as the Chinese capital recorded seven days with no new cases of coronavirus.