Market behind Beijing's June outbreak to reopen

By Du Juan | chinadaily.com.cn
Updated: Aug 13, 2020
Zhou Xinchun, deputy head of southern Beijing's Fengtai district, attends a news conference, on Aug 13, 2020. [Photo by Du Juan/chinadaily.com.cn]

Xinfadi wholesale market, which suspended operations June 13 after being identified as the source of a cluster of COVID-19 infections in Beijing, will reopen to the public on Saturday, a municipal government official said on Thursday.

Zhou Xinchun, deputy head of Fengtai district, where the Xinfadi market is located, said the authority has upgraded the operation system to make all buyers, vehicles and goods traceable.

Officials attend a news conference on Aug 13, 2020. [Photo by Du Juan/chinadaily.com.cn]

Covering an area the size of 170 soccer fields, the complex supplies more than 80 percent of the capital's agricultural produce.

"The wholesale market will not serve individual residents after its reopening and will only serve the wholesale buyers," Zhou said.

Both the buyers and sellers need to register before they trade in the market. All the sellers and buyers have to make a reservation, providing information including vehicle license plates, trading area, time and gates of their entry routes.

Officials attend a news conference on Aug 13, 2020. [Photo by Du Juan/chinadaily.com.cn]

They need to pass a facial recognition system before entering the market as well as submit to a body temperature check.

Fengtai district has screened all the potential risks in the market to ensure safety in reopening.

According to the authority, a convenience vegetable market near the wholesale market with an area of 1,000 square meters was open to public for a trial run on July 28. It has 22 stands inside selling vegetables, fruits, oil and eggs with the nearby neighborhood as its main source of customers.

Staff workers disinfect trucks parked at the Xinfadi wholesale market in Beijing, on July 7, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

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