Express – The two patients are being treated in Beijing Chaoyang Hospital having been diagnosed with the pneumonic plague at noon today, China Global Television Network report. Prevention and control measures have been implemented.

The hospital, usually once one of the busiest in the capital, was found with virtually no patient insight on Tuesday night after the two patients were admitted, the Global Times reports. The emergency room of the hospital was closed for patients Tuesday afternoon due to a “special situation,” a nurse from the hospital told the news site, who declined to reveal details.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the pneumonic plague can be fatal if left untreated and is extremely contagious. From 2010 to 2015, 3248 cases were reported worldwide, including 584 deaths. Pneumonic plague is also referred to as a lung-based plague, as it is a severe lung infection. READ MORE