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“The risk of the epidemic spreading is very high, so we should take resolute and decisive measures,” Xu Hejiang, spokesman at the Beijing city government, said at a press conference on Monday.

Turning to domestic news, the and the are questioning why it took authorities over a week to detect heavy metal pollutants cadmium and thallium in a branch of the Hejiang River since dead fish were found rotting in the river from 1 July.

Around 112 illegal mines operating on a branch of the Hejiang were closed over the weekend for discharging untreated wastewater. commentator Xu Lifan questions whether local officials in Hezhou colluded with illegal mine operators in blind pursuit of economic development and "GDP worship".