Mass round of disinfection takes place at produce markets, restaurants

A total of 276 agricultural markets that are in operation have been disinfected in Beijing to prevent the city's newly occurring COVID-19 cases from expanding, local officials revealed on Tuesday.

As of 6 am on Tuesday, the city's 11 agricultural markets located in basements or partially-exposed basements have also been suspended, said Chen Yankai, deputy director of Beijing's market supervision administration.

Chen said at a press conference on Tuesday more than 33,000 restaurants, including canteens in enterprises and office buildings, have been disinfected.

As of Tuesday morning, the administration has conducted special sampling inspections targeting the city's food safety, especially meat, grains, vegetables, fruits and seafood.

No alarming reports were found, according to Chen.

On Monday, the administration announced all agricultural markets, catering venues and related logistics facilities nationwide will be disinfected, after new local infections were reported in Xinfadi market in Fengtai district last week.

"We have taken the strictest control methods to prevent the disease from expanding and made a great determination to guarantee a stable food market in the capital city," Chen said.