There had been almost no new cases in the city for almost two months until an infection was reported on June 12, and since then the total number has climbed to 51, including eight more in the first seven hours of Sunday.
The market was closed before dawn on Saturday and the district containing the market put itself on a"wartime" footing. Huaxiang, a neighbourhood in the same district as the food market and which has one of China's biggest used car centres, raised its epidemic risk level to high on Sunday, becoming the only neighbourhood in the country to be on high alert. This status means there can be no economic activity until the outbreak is controlled.As of 3pm on Sunday, 10 neighbourhoods in Beijing, such as Financial Street, had raised their risk levels from low to medium.