Rewind in Beijing

Here's the latest coronavirus news. Arizona cases top N.Y., sparking fears of hospital overload Trump says virus will 'fade away' without vaccine Europe released 122,000 inmates to control pandemic Rewind in Beijing China's new coronavirus outbreak in Beijing is a sobering reminder that in the story of this global pandemic, we are likely only in the first chapter. For residents of the vibrant city of over 20 million people, it's like time has rewound. After months of normal life and zero new infections, the abrupt outbreak means that masks are back on, events called off and the kids stuck at home once more. Hopeful plans people made—rescheduled weddings, summer vacations—are now canceled all over again. The resurgence is startling because China, the country where the coronavirus first emerged last year, has one of the strictest virus containment frameworks globally. The government's wide-ranging authoritarian powers to monitor and restrict the movement of its citizens go way beyond the measures undertaken in western nations. The closed Xinfadi market in Beijing on June 13. Photographer: Greg Baker/AFP And while the 150-plus infections found so far in Beijing are far fewer than what's being reported daily in the U.S., what's unsettling is that they erupted after nearly 60 days without any known infections in the city. The market at the center of the new outbreak said the virus was traced back to the chopping board of a vendor handling imported salmon. This, together with genome sequencing revealing that the strain matched one detected in Europe, has caused a nationwide boycott of imported salmon that's affected trading partners like Norway and Australia. But if food items could transmit the virus across borders, the pandemic should be many times larger than it is now, considering how interconnected the global food supply is. Rather, it's more likely that as Chinese people were going back to normal life in the past few months thinking that the worst had passed, the virus was biding its time, moving silently within the population. The head of China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention has suggested that it may persist in dark, humid places, but no one really knows where it's been hiding. As the people of Beijing are now finding out, the virus's resilience will be the greatest test of their own.—Rachel Chang Latest podcast Should You Take an Antibody Test? The science is still out on whether or not people who have had Covid-19 become immunet. And the test may not be accurate. Reporter Kristen V. Brown tries to answer the question: Is it worth taking the test at all?   What you should read Volunteers Line Up for Coronavirus Infection Controversial testing approach approach could speed vaccine appraisals. Covid Economic Hit May Outpace 2008 Crunch Growth of wealth to slow over next five years, BCG study finds. Act Fast to Beat a Second Wave: Charts Countries that hesitate to mount a containment response suffer most. Hello and Goodbye: Ireland's Virus-Era Pubs  Sessions must end after less than two hours, include food under new rules. WHO Halts Covid Tests of Drug Trump Touted Anti-malarial hydroxychloroquine fails to show ability to reduce deaths. Know someone else who would like this newsletter?  Have them sign up here. Have any questions, concerns, or news tips on Covid-19 news? Get in touch or help us cover the story. Like this newsletter? Subscribe for unlimited access to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Follow Us Get the newsletter You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Coronavirus Daily newsletter. Unsubscribe | Bloomberg.com | Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022