The coastal city of China, Qingdao, saw a resurgence of novel COVID-19 cases in its locality. Following this, the country will be carrying out testing its entire population of 9 million citizens.
On Monday, authorities in China’s Qingdao said they would test the city’s entire population of more than 9 million people for COVID-19 during the next five days. After new cases, the news appeared linked to a hospital treating people confirmed with the disease after returning from overseas.
The unexpected emergence of COVID-19
The coastal city, nearly 700 km (435 miles) southeast of Beijing, reported six new COVID-19 cases and six asymptomatic cases as of late October 11. Most of the issues saw a link to the Qingdao Chest Hospital.
The Chinese city of Qingdao is testing all of its 9.5 million residents for the coronavirus after it recorded China's first locally transmitted cases in almost two months. https://t.co/UISjvhG9k6
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 12, 2020
The country launched the mass country testing on Sunday evening after the officials confirmed the new cases.
By Sunday night, photos were circulating online, showing residents lining up for tests.
Six confirmed locally transmitted cases and six more asymptomatic ones were reported on Sunday, triggering worries of a new outbreak.
Local media reports said that all the cases connect to Qingdao Chest Hospital as of Sunday night. The hospital was treating “imported” issues of the deadly disease.
The mass testing of China
China has extensive, quick test capabilities. The health commission gave the numbers of the confirmed cases. More than 140,000 employees of “medical institutions, newly admitted patients and personnel” had been tested in Qingdao.
After the announcement, the National Health Commission (NHC) said mainland China had 21 confirmed COVID-19 cases on October 11. The report did not include any confirmed infections in Qingdao, and it was not immediately clear why.
The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not count as confirmed cases, rose to 32 from 23 a day earlier, the NHC said. It did not offer a breakdown of the new asymptomatic cases, although 29 of these cases involved people returning from overseas.
Comparing from then to now
In June, large areas of Beijing were subject to mass tests after the capital. The city is home to more than 20 million people, detected virus cases linked to a food market.
Qingdao has already locked down Qingdao Chest Hospital as well as the emergency department of its central hospital. The officials have also sealed off the buildings housing diagnosed patients as part of the authorities’ containment measures.
China is also eager to roll out a coronavirus vaccine, with several companies in final-stage trials, much like the rest of the world.
Image courtesy of CKA/Shutterstock