Covid 19 coronavirus: Beijing orders schools closed amid 'severe' outbreak

Residents line up to get tested at a coronavirus testing centre set up outside a sports facility in Beijing as China reported several dozen more infections. AP Photo / Ng Han Guan

Beijing has ordered the closure of all the capital's schools as authorities scrambled to contain a "severe" outbreak of coronavirus.

The reintroduction of draconian lockdown measures follows the discovery of 106 cases of the virus in the Chinese capital since last Thursday, with the origin of the burst traced to a wholesale food market.

Residents in high-risk neighbourhoods have been sealed inside their housing compounds, while those in medium-risk areas are banned from leaving the city.

Anybody seeking to leave the capital must show negative coronavirus test results for the past seven days.

Students wearing masks to curb the spread the Covid 19 coronavirus leaving a Beijing school. AP Photo / Ng Han Guan

Beijing's education commission on Tuesday said that schools would return to online teaching from tomorrow and postponed the return of students to university.

Cases linked to the outbreak in Beijing have already been discovered in nearby provinces, with officials working to trace and isolate all contacts before the virus spreads further.

Shanghai and a number of other cities have ordered 14-day quarantines for any travellers from the capital.

"The epidemic situation in the capital is extremely severe," said city government spokesman Xu Hejian. "Beijing will take the most resolute, decisive and strict measures to contain the outbreak."

Authorities in Beijing are testing thousands of people for coronavirus, including everyone who visited Xinfadi food centre, the wholesale food market where the outbreak erupted that supplies 70 per cent of the groceries sold in the capital.

At least two sports stadiums have been converted to allow medical workers to swab people deemed to be at risk based on their travel and contact history.

Elderly residents wait at a bus stop with a map of Beijing near a neighborhood under lockdown in Beijing. AP Photo / Ng Han Guan

For contact tracing, Beijing is using both a "knock, knock" method – making both house and phone calls – and a self-reporting mechanism by broadcasting public service announcements, reminding people to seek assistance if they have been near the market.

Subway stations in high-risk areas have been ordered to disinfect public spaces, including seats and hand-rails, every hour. Other stations in lower risk neighbourhoods must disinfect every four hours. Buses are enforcing social distancing measures, allowing 4 to 6 passengers per square metre.

Trains are also required to cut capacity by as much as half to allow more space between travellers.

Some transportation services have also been halted, including select long-distance buses to nearby provinces. All taxis and ride-sharing vehicles are barred from leaving city confines.

City authorities are also conducting mass disinfection of restaurants and markets, closing down 11 wholesale markets in the city of 20 million to scrub them thoroughly.

Chinese paramilitary and plainclothes personnel on duty at Tiananmen Gate after authorities locked down a third neighborhood in Beijing. AP Photo / Ng Han Guan

Those markets will remain closed until further notice, with grocery stores and restaurants supplied directly via government food reserves or from the product's place of origin.

Chinese disease experts have said a preliminary assessment indicated the coronavirus was brought into the country after discovering traces on a chopping board used by a Xinfadi vendor of imported salmon.

But the World Health Organisation has cautioned the claim was not the "primary hypothesis" and that further investigation was necessary.

At least three officials in charge of the Beijing neighbourhood where the outbreak emerged have been sacked, according to state media, underscoring the challenges local governments face in re-starting the economy while containing outbreaks.