简体中文
01:25
The rapid response of closing the Xinfadi market, the biggest wholesale market in Asia, has been a crucial step to prevent Chinese capital Beijing from becoming another COVID-19 epidemic hotspot.
Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told CGTN host Tian Wei, "If the pandemic controls at Xinfadi occurred only a few days later, the transmission would have been more unexpected." He said it was possible that Beijing could have become another Wuhan. Wu is confident on Beijing's containment of the virus due to the vigorous response, isolation of cases and effective contact tracing.
According to Wu, all identified cases in the Beijing cluster were infected before June 12 and were identified in the past three days. "Xinfadi market has been closed, which stops a secondary transmission," Wu said. He adds that the number of new cases will see a modest rise in the next few days as more cases are traced back to the market. In addition, the number of communities and areas with infections is expected to rise as existing cases come to light. But Wu assures that the infections in Beijing have been contained.
Wu points out that although China has controlled its domestic transmission, it should beware of sporadic cases in the future. By using China's response to the initial Hubei Province outbreak to highlight China's preparedness, Wu says that as the Wuhan outbreak met with the Spring Festival, it is necessary to confine a majority of cases inside the central China province so that migrant workers won't be able to spread the virus further. Effective controlling and containing COVID-19 is a part of a effective nationwide response.
The revelation that a COVID-19 infection cluster came from a seafood section of the Xinfadi market in Beijing has drawn comparisons with the Wuhan outbreak, believed to begin at the Huanan seafood market selling both sea food and wild animals. During the Wuhan outbreak, live wild animals were hypothesized to be the source. The current outbreak in Beijing was first reported to be related to vendors selling seafood, but more finds were reported.
"The cases in the Xinfadi market were concentrated in vendors selling both fresh and frozen seafood. The onset of illness is earlier than in other stalls," he confirmed. The origin of the Beijing infection cluster is still under investigation.
Wu confirms that the virus strain found at the market is consistent with the strain circulating in Europe, and differs from the strain that affected Hubei Province.
02:10
Wu and a scientific research team are currently engaging a two-pronged approach to tackle the Xinfadi outbreak. The first task is to set up a public health response team. This will identify and quarantine close contacts, and the second is to investigate the science behind the Xinfadi outbreak. It will look at produce, vendors and even shoppers as possible sources. The ongoing investigation will provide new insights into how COVID-19 is transmitted.
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Time (GMT): 1415, 2015
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