China to test all Wuhan residents as coronavirus returns

Wuhan : Authorities in Wuhan have said that they will be testing almost whole population for coronavirus as a surge in the number of cases has been registered in the state.

The city of 11 million is "swiftly launching comprehensive nucleic acid testing of all residents", senior Wuhan official Li Tao said at a press conference on Tuesday.

The authorities on Monday said that they have traced down seven locally transmitted cases of coronavirus in Wuhan, breaking a year-long streak without domestic cases after it squashed an initial outbreak with an unprecedented lockdown in early 2020.

Meanwhile, the residents have been confined to their homes and temporarily public transport services have been halted.

China reported 61 domestic cases on Tuesday as an outbreak of the fast-spreading Delta variant reached dozens of cities after infections among airport cleaners in Nanjing sparked a chain of cases that have been reported across the country. Major cities including Beijing have now tested millions of residents while cordoning off residential compounds and placing close contacts under quarantine.