This archive report was first published on 17 June 2020.
On June 17, 2020, Beijing's airports cancelled over 1,200 flights and schools in the Chinese capital were closed again as authorities rushed to contain a new coronavirus outbreak linked to a wholesale food market.
The city reported 31 new cases on Wednesday, with officials urging residents not to leave Beijing, amid fears of a second wave of infections in China.
Tens of thousands of people linked to the new Beijing virus cluster are being tested, with almost 30 residential compounds in the city now under lockdown.
At least 1,255 scheduled flights were cancelled on Wednesday morning, nearly 70 percent of all trips to and from Beijing's main airports, according to the state-run People's Daily.
Beijing city spokesman Xu Hejian warned that the 'epidemic situation in the capital is extremely severe.'
Mass testing is under way, with officials closing 11 markets and disinfecting thousands of food and beverage businesses in Beijing.
More than 1,200 flights to and from Beijing's main airports were cancelled over coronavirus worries.
The city has now reported 137 infections over the last six days, with six new asymptomatic cases and three suspected cases on Wednesday, according to the municipal health commission.
