Beijing has opted against a city-wide lockdown,favouring neighbourhood shut-downs to avoid closing down its economy. China's Ministry of Finance issued $20 billion worth of anti-epidemic bonds on Tuesday to help finance the country's economic recovery.
The Municipal Health Commission has ramped up testing across the city as it encourages anyone who has had contacts with the market or its staff to get tested. On Sunday alone,76,499 people were tested,with 59 revealed to be positive. Another 27 tested positive on Tuesday,taking the total number of market-connected infections to 106.
Wang Huidong,a vegetable and fruit wholesaler at the Xinfadi market,said all 20 employees in his company had taken the COVID-19 test and returned a negative result.
"The whole market is blocked now,all personnel are taken for test and isolation,and the market is undergoing disinfection now,"he said.
Wang said while the shut-down was an inconvenience,it was necessary to bring the pandemic under control."Around 10 trucks of goods from my customers are still in the market,"he said.