Beijing May Soon Be Free of New Virus Cases, CDC Official Says

What’s new: The top infectious diseases expert at China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention has predicted that Beijing may be free of new coronavirus cases “in about a week” as authorities continue to fight a recent rebound of Covid-19 in the capital.

In an interview on Monday with the state-owned China News Service, Wu Zunyou said three metrics indicated that the outbreak was under control: the sustained downward trend in daily new cases, the over two-week gap since reported infections peaked on June 13, and the comparatively short time between the emergence of new cases and the imposition of disease control measures, which curbed community transmission.

“These three objective metrics show that Beijing has avoided both the risks of Wuhan and the widespread infection seen in cities like New York,” Wu said.

The background: After going more than 50 days without recording a single new Covid-19 infection, Beijing has logged over 300 cases since June 11, including (link in Chinese) seven on Monday. The vast majority of those infected have ties to a food market in the city’s southwest.

Authorities have responded by closing off some housing compounds, reimposing restrictions on businesses, and curbing outbound travel. More than 7.6 million people in the city of 21 million people have undergone (link in Chinese) nucleic acid tests since the new outbreak started, officials said at a Sunday press conference.

Contact reporter Matthew Walsh (matthewwalsh@caixin.com) and editor Heather Mowbray (heathermowbray@caixin.com)