A medical worker takes samples for the mass Covid-19 test in a residential block in Wuhan on Aug. 3. Photo: Feature China/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
The Chinese government on Tuesday ordered mass coronavirus testing in Wuhan in an effort to curb the spread of the Delta variant, AP reports.
The big picture: Wuhan, where COVID-19 was first detected in late 2019, had not reported any local, non-imported coronavirus cases since mid-May last year, per Reuters. On Monday, authorities confirmed three cases of the Delta variant.
- Cases are also up nationwide. More than 35 cities in 17 of China’s 33 provinces and regions have reported confirmed cases in recent weeks, per AP.
Driving the news: All 11 million residents of Wuhan will be tested for coronavirus, using "city-wide nucleic acid testing," per a Wuhan official, according to Reuters.
- "To ensure that everyone in the city is safe, city-wide nucleic acid testing will be quickly launched for all people to fully screen out positive results and asymptomatic infections," Wuhan official Li Qiang said, per Reuters.
- The cities of Nanjing and Yangzhou have canceled all domestic flights, and Beijing has halted long-distance trains from 23 stations in response to the uptick in cases, per AP.