Beijing outbreak may be more infectious than Wuhan one

Residents who visited or live near Beijing’s Xinfadi market, the source of the new outbreak, lining up to get tested at a sports centre in Beijing

The coronavirus found in Beijing's Xinfadi wholesale market is probably more infectious than that detected in Wuhan's Huanan seafood market, where the first wave of epidemic in the country was detected, given a significant number of cases confirmed in only four days in the capital city, a virologist said on Monday. 

Yang Zhanqiu, deputy director of the pathogen biology department at Wuhan University, said on Monday that 79 cases were confirmed in four days, showing the coronavirus found in Beijing is extremely contagious, likely more contagious than that found in Wuhan. 

A man who visited Beijing recently being tested for Covid-19 in Nanjing

A researcher from the Beijing Center for Diseases Prevention and Control (Beijing CDC) said that the genome sequencing of the strain of the coronavirus which caused the new COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing at the Xinfadi wholesale food market shows it originated from Europe. 

Yang said that if the type of coronavirus spreading in Beijing matches the type of virus sampled in the Xinfadi market and from Europe, then it is safe to say that the virus found in Beijing was "brought into" China by food or people from Europe. He is inclined to define the local outbreak in Beijing Xinfadi market as an imported outbreak.

Yang said the genome sequencing is like testing human DNA. The genotype of the virus does not mutate in the short term. The mutation usually occurs after two or three years, to even 10 or 20 years. And different virus test results show different genotypes, with the detection of the difference easy to tell.

The outbreak in Wuhan was at a low temperature in winter, which was conducive to the spread of the virus. It is summer in Beijing, which is not conducive to the spread of the virus, he added.

Chinese paramilitary police stand guard at barricaded entrances to the market

What makes people optimistic is that China has accumulated rich experience in epidemic prevention and a strong joint prevention mechanism, and quickly adopted measures to contain the epidemic, Yang said.

Yang believes that different types of viruses bring new challenges to the development of vaccines.

"No doubt different genotypes of the virus can cause the vaccine to be less effective, or even ineffective. That means the vaccine would have to be effective against both viruses circulating in China and those in Europe, adding difficulty to developing a vaccine," Yang explained.

Different types of a virus may cause different symptoms or increase the difficulty of treatment, which has not been confirmed yet. However, Yang is quite sure that the European genotype will not affect the development of effective drugs for COVID-19.

As for the controversial question of the origin of the virus, Yang said that previous studies have shown that the coronavirus does not infect aquatic organisms such as fish, and there is little possibility for salmon to serve as an intermediate host.

There is a possibility that aquatic products or beef, mutton and poultry were contaminated by patients during processing abroad and brought into China through the cold chain.

TIANJIN: No new coronavirus cases reported, 

salmon and Sushi sales were being halted 

As of June 16th, 06:00, there was no new case of novel coronavirus reported in Tianjin. So far, of all the 60 imported cases, 56 have been discharged upon recovery and 4 are still hospitalized.

The Tianjin Food and Beverage Association issued a notice to urgently stop selling salmon, sushi and other cold dishes.

No imported suspected cases are undergoing test. No new locally transmitted cases or suspected cases were reported.

9 asymptomatic infection cases are undergoing medical observation right now, the health commission said.

天津无新增, 停售刺身

6月15日6时至16日6时，我市无新增报告境外输入新冠肺炎确诊病例。累计报告境外输入确诊病例60例（中国籍56例、美国籍2例、法国籍1例、菲律宾籍1例），治愈出院56例，在院4例（其中轻型3例、普通型1例）。

从6月13日开始到昨天，天津16个区已全部发布通告，排查近期去过北京相关市场人员。市卫健委要求尽快提升核酸检测能力，超过12小时仍未得出检测结果的，要上报情况。天津市餐饮协会下发通知，紧急叫停售卖刺身等生冷菜品。

6月15日6时至16日6时，我市无新增报告本地新冠肺炎确诊病例。累计报告本地新冠肺炎确诊病例136例，其中男性73例，女性63例；治愈出院133例，死亡3例。

我市无新增无症状感染者。累计22例（境外输入21例），其中解除医学观察12例、尚在医学观察7例、转为确诊病例3例。

截至目前，全市无现存疑似病例，累计排查密切接触者3935人，尚有326人正在接受医学观察。

Woman Earns 3 million yuan In Flight Delay Insurance Scam

A Chinese woman who has been making money off the incessant flight delays in China was arrested by local authorities.

Identified only by her surname Li, the 45-year-old woman from Nanjing purportedly got rich off local flights taking off late. 

From 2015 to 2019, Li reportedly booked nearly a thousand flights despite having no plans of actually flying anywhere. 

She has created a money-making scheme by purchasing flight delay insurance and raking in the claims.

Li prepares by doing her research, analyzing local weather patterns and news predictions before buying the insurance, to determine which flights might get delayed or canceled.

In a bid to avoid suspicion, she used not just her name but also the names of her friends and family members in her transactions.

Taking advantage of the system, Li has made approximately 3 million yuan after having booked more than 900 flights.

Local authorities eventually got wind of her scam and conducted an investigation. It did not take long before Li was apprehended. On Friday, she was charged with fraud.

Chinese travel service providers have since learned their lesson from Li and are now correcting the loopholes that made her scam possible. 

Policies are now updated to include a provision that compensation may only be paid for those who actually used the booked flight.

女子利用航班延误骗保300多万元

很多人乘飞机出行，最不愿航班延误。但女子李某却偏偏喜欢航班延误的情况发生。从2015年到2019年这4年间，李某遇上延误航班近900次，获得的理赔金额高达300余万元！

想靠航班延误发家致富？可这样做已经违法了！

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