The pandemic is “far from over”.
China supposedly has some fresh cases of the new SARS coronavirus in Beijing, a city that has been left relatively unscathed by the pandemic all year.
Just as states there return to some semblance of normalcy, China joins the ‘second wave’ chorus, a chorus that began singing as early as April in the U. S., but has been largely off topic in China.
“A new breakout in Beijing coronavirus cases has raised further questions over the potential for a second wave,” says Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG, a trading platform and financial services firm.
The small-scale outbreak in Beijing has highlighted the difficulties that will be found worldwide when attempting to resume economic activity while minimizing the spread of the virus.
“The Chinese decision to implement strict shutdown procedures in response to this small outbreak highlights the stark differences between the Chinese and American approach,” Mahony says. China cordoned off part of the city to restrict movement.
A return of the coronavirus could come back to bite China. Will the local Beijing population be willing to go into lockdown again?
According to the South China Morning Post today, Beijing reported just 79 new local cases over the last five days, which is about 30% of the city’s total case load during the height of the pandemic.
All of the cases were linked to the Xinfadi wholesale meat market in the city’s southwestern district of Fengtai.
Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told People’s Daily on Monday that the situation “was very serious.
