A major international hospital in Beijing went into full lockdown today after a medic was diagnosed with COVID-19.
The medical worker, an ER nurse, caught the disease while treating a coronavirus patient at the Peking University International Hospital, officials have said.
The medical facility with 1,800 hospital beds will be disinfected thoroughly and stop accepting new patients to prevent further spread of the virus, according to the local government.
The Peking University International Hospital has gone into lockdown after an ER nurse (not pictured) caught the disease while treating a coronavirus patient, officials said. The file picture taken on June 16 shows a nurse treating a patient in isolation in Ditan Hospital in Beijing
The Peking University International Hospital (pictured) has been locked down today by officials after an ER nurse caught the killer bug while treating a coronavirus patient
The Chinese capital has reported 25 new cases today, bringing the total in the last eight days to 183 in the city’s worst outbreak since early February. Pictured, a resident in Beijing receiving a nucleic acid test for the coronavirus at a testing centre in the Chinese capital city on June 16
The infected nurse is one of the 25 new cases reported by Beijing officials today, bringing the total in the last eight days to 183 in the city’s worst outbreak since early February.
Tens of thousands of people in the Chinese capital are being tested for the contagion, while neighbourhoods have been locked down and schools closed as authorities battle to contain the cluster.
The locked-down hospital is located in Changping, a district situated in the suburbs of north-western Beijing.
Wu Bin, deputy mayor of Changping, reported the new infection detected in the medical facility today in a press briefing.
The locked-down hospital is located in Changping, a district situated in the suburbs of north-western Beijing. Workers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant at Beijing Railway Station
Tens of thousands of people in the Chinese capital are being tested for the contagion. Chinese epidemic control workers assist people who had contact with the Xinfadi wholesale market
People in lockdown are seen waiting behind an entrance gate for their goods to be delivered, mostly food and beverages, inside their residential compound in Beijing on June 19
The ER nurse tested positive for the coronavirus after having close contacts with a confirmed patient who was diagnosed on Sunday.
The medical worker was said to be ‘in working mode’ when she was infected.
The local government immediately sealed off the hospital and adopted anti-virus measures, the deputy mayor said.
The nurse has been transferred to a designated hospital for treatment, according to the official.
The authority is also tracing and imposing quarantines on people who had close contacts with the medic.
‘We will raise the protection level of the hospital and disinfect thoroughly,’ said Ms Wu.
Beijing has rushed to seal off a hospital in the city after a nurse (not pictured) was diagnosed as a confirmed coronavirus patient. The picture taken on June 16 shows a medical worker disinfecting the hands of a coronavirus patient in a medical ward at Beijing Ditan Hospital
The Chinese capital city is hit by an escalating coronavirus outbreak which saw nearly 200 confirmed infections in eight days. The picture shows a security guard checking people’s body temperatures as they enter You’an Hospital for COVID-19 testing in Beijing on June 15
‘Outpatient and emergency departments will stop operating. The wards will stop accepting new patients to reduce the density of population,’ the official added.
It comes as the Chinese capital city is hit by an escalating coronavirus outbreak which saw nearly 200 confirmed infections in eight days.
Five provinces across China have also reported a total of 17 coronavirus infections linked to the crisis in Beijing since June 11, according to official figures.
The infection cluster is linked to Xinfadi, a major wholesale market supplying more than 70 per cent of Beijing’s fresh produce. It has been temporarily closed due to the epidemic.
Those patients were mostly market vendors working at Xinfadi or close contacts with native coronavirus carriers detected in the capital city.
Zhang Yong of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the strain of the virus spreading in Beijing ‘is older than the virus currently circulating in Europe’.
Zhang raised the possibility of the virus lurking in imported frozen food or in the wholesale market itself, resulting in similarities to older strains.
But scientists cautioned against making early conclusions on the Beijing cluster.
As of Friday, China has reported a total of 83,325 confirmed coronavirus cases, of which 293 are active. The death toll remains at 4,634.
Chinese expert warns people not to touch raw fish or meat to prevent virus
Top Chinese diseases officials have warned citizens to avoid touching raw meat and fish in a bid to prevent catching the coronavirus.
Feng Zhaolu, a researcher from China’s CDC, advised residents to wash their hands before and after handling uncooked food and use separate chopping boards.
The expert said in a press briefing today: ‘Food and water need to be heated and cooked thoroughly. Fruits should be consumed without the skin.
‘Regularly-used tableware can be disinfected by steaming them for 15 minutes,’ he added.
A woman wearing a face mask shops at the meat section inside a supermarket today – amid fears the strain of coronavirus now spreading in Beijing has been lurking there for months
Despite the warnings, the officials said that they have no evidence proving that people would be infected with COVID-19 from eating seafood.
The expert’s advice comes as China’s National Health Commission has ordered all wet market workers to wear face masks and gloves.
The health authority introduced a new set of anti-virus guidelines for the public today in a press conference.
The rules have required workers in ‘high-risk’ places – such as wet markets and theatres – wear face coverings to prevent the virus spreading.