Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Authorities in Beijing have initiated an inquiry into a 24-hour bar they believe is at the centre of a c...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - Authorities in Beijing have initiated an inquiry into a 24-hour bar they believe is at the centre of a cluster of more than 250 COVID-19 cases that have been reported in the Chinese capital since last week, according to domestic media.
According to the state-run Beijing Daily, a team of local government officials would examine and deal with the Heaven Supermarket Bar "immediately, firmly, and decisively."
According to the newspaper, all of the city's bars, nightclubs, karaoke venues, internet cafes, and other places of amusement are being examined, with those in underground locations being closed while epidemic prevention efforts are "tightened."
Patient No. 1,991 has been named as the person who caused the flare-up, according to the newspaper. According to the publication, the individual's carelessness has transformed him into the "propagator" of the outbreak.
Despite visiting a variety of restaurants, bars, and public areas between May 26 and June 8, authorities in the city of 22 million said the individual did not take any COVID-19 tests.
By the evening of June 8, two days after visiting the 24-hour pub at the centre of the current cluster, the patient had acquired a fever.
Despite the fever, the person returned to the bar in the early hours of June 9, the same day as a few other bar clients were determined to be ill.
Authorities are under pressure as a result of the outbreak linked to the bar, which has forced millions of people to undergo mandatory testing and thousands more to be placed under lockdowns. It comes only days after the city lifted a more than month-long partial lockdown.
The probe was announced a day after Vice Premier Sun Chunlan visited the pub and stated it was vital to improve COVID prevention and control in critical locations, according to official media.
According to authorities, people afflicted in the outbreak live or work in 14 of the capital's 16 districts.
After more than a month of measures including exhortations to work from home, mall closures, and stretches of the city's transportation system, drinking and dining in most places in the city only resumed on June 6.
On Monday, Chaoyang, the city's largest district, which includes the bar, began a three-day mass testing programme for its 3.5 million citizens.
The bar's patrons' close contacts have been identified, and their residential buildings have been placed under lockdown.
