China closing schools, colleges in Beijing again as coronavirus outbreak grows
China is closing all schools and colleges in its capital of Beijing as a growing coronavirus outbreak there has now infected more than 100 people, Fox News reports.
The educational facilities will be shuttered as of Wednesday, according to the state-run The People’s Daily newspaper.
It is unclear when they will be able to reopen. In the meantime, schools are being advised to restore their online learning programs and college students will be turned away from returning to campuses, Bloomberg is reporting, citing a government briefing aired on China Central Television.
Most of the cases have been linked to Beijing’s Xinfadi wholesale food market; people lined up Tuesday for testing of anyone who had visited the market in the past two weeks or had come in contact with them. About 9,000 workers at the market were tested already.
The Xinfadi market was shut down Saturday after at least 50 people tested positive for the virus.
Before the current spate of infections, the city had not had any new COVID-19 cases in 55 days.
“Beijing has entered an extraordinary period,” city spokesman Xu Hejia told reporters over the weekend.
Beijing also has locked down 11 residential communities near the market.