China’s Northeast Cluster Spreads to Beijing as Resurgence Grows

Beijing reported one new coronavirus case on Tuesday, its first in 21 days, reflecting the fragility of the Chinese capital’s success at stamping out infections earlier this month.

The new case is linked to the outbreak in the northeastern port city of Dalian, where more than 40 people have become infected. The cluster, which first started from a man working at a seafood processing plant, has also spread to other northeastern provinces as well as China’s southern Fujian province.

The infection threatens to undercut Beijing’s efforts that brought new cases to zero after a local outbreak that started last month infected over 300 people. Authorities had started to relax restrictions in the capital after aggressive testing and targeted lockdown measures, but resurgences elsewhere in China may now pose a threat to normalization.