China clamps down on 'explosive' coronavirus outbreak of several dozen new cases

The Chinese government is carrying out a severe ongoing lockdown of Beijing and its surrounding environs, an effort the country's ruling Communist party said is necessary to contain a coronavirus outbreak of several dozen new cases in the city of 20 million. 

At least 106 new infections have been confirmed, representing 0.0005% of the capital city's population. The Chinese Communist Party said the outbreak broke a 56-day streak of no new reported cases in the region. 

The outbreaks were traced to the Xinfadi wholesale food market in the Fengtai district of the city. The government has deployed over 100,000 members of its epidemiology response team to the city, while nearly 30 local enclaves in the area have been locked down. Schools have also been closed. 

"Beijing is facing explosive and concentrated outbreaks," Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist at the country's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told the state-controlled People's Daily newspaper on Monday. 

The Chinese government has argued that imported salmon may have been responsible for this latest outbreak. The country has halted imports of the fish for the time being.