Flights canceled, communities fenced off as coronavirus' return plunges Beijing into "soft lockdown"

Beijing — The new outbreak of coronavirus in the Chinese capital prompted authorities to raise their official emergency response back to Level II on Tuesday night, as they race to stem what one called an "extremely severe" situation. The adjustment to Beijing's response level came just 10 days after it was downgraded to Level III.

Beijing has bolstered measures to stop the virus spreading as the cluster of new infections, centered on the Xinfadi wholesale food market, grew by another 31 cases over the course of Tuesday. China's government has now officially tallied 137 cases in the capital city since the first patient in this new wave of infections was diagnosed last week.

Now flights are being canceled, schools have been told to shut back down, and entire communities near the market, or with known COVID-19 cases, have been closed off and their residents barred from leaving. So far 29 neighborhoods have been completely fenced off.

Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-china-beijing-outbreak-flights-cancelled-soft-lockdown/