The state news agency Xinhua writes that the two patients will come from the province of Inner Mongolia. Doctors at a hospital in Chaoyang District, Beijing, where the people are being cared for, have found that it is pneumonia.

Preventive measures and control measures have been taken, according to the authorities. Chinese Global Times writes that the normally full hospital where patients are to be cared for was practically empty during Tuesday night and the emergency room should have been closed.

Previous outbreaks in China

Lung plague can be spread between people, for example through drops from coughing. Today, there are antibiotics that are effective against plague, but if treatment is not timed, the disease has high mortality.

Occasional plague cases have been found in people in China earlier in recent years. The cause of the plague is unknown.