Jun 16, 2020 - World

Beijing closes schools to contain coronavirus outbreak

People shopping in Beijing on June 16.

People shopping in Beijing on June 16. Photo: Artyom Ivanov/TASS via Getty Images

Beijing's government ordered all schools in the city to close Tuesday in an effort to contain a new coronavirus outbreak which has spread to neighboring provinces, Bloomberg reports.

Why it matters: The Chinese capital, home to more than 21 million people, has so far reported 106 new infections and raised its emergency response to level two — meaning people must be tested for the virus before they can leave the city.

  • New cases in two northern neighboring provinces have also been linked to the outbreak in Beijing.
  • The city government also closed another food market after a case linked to the original cluster was discovered there.
  • 11 other food markets have been closed and almost 300 others sanitized, and multiple housing compounds have been put under lockdown.

The big picture: Government officials in Beijing must now balance containment policies with recovery efforts as strict lockdown measures would undo some of the progress the country has made in reopening its economy.

  • Local officials said the city can conduct more than 90,000 coronavirus tests per day. It tested more than 70,000 people on Sunday.

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