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Coronavirus China
ChinaScience

Coronavirus: 18 million tests in three days as Guangzhou tries to stem spread in latest outbreak

  • ‘Nobody is a bystander in this war against the pandemic,’ says spokeswoman for the Guangzhou Health Commission as city and nearby cities roll out mass testing
  • Four new cases reported are in Liwan district, home of 75-year-old woman believed to be the first local infection in the latest outbreak

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Local citizens line up to have nucleic acid testing at the Huadu District of Guangzhou city, China’s Guangdong province, on June 6, 2021. All people living in Huadu District of Guangzhou city are required to be tested. Photo: Imaginechina
Guo Rui
Guangzhou, China’s southern gateway, and nearby cities have a take-no-chances approach by carrying out blanket testing to stop the Covid outbreak spreading any further.
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The metropolis city has been on high alert since late May after the first case of local infection for this year was discovered – a 75-year-old woman living in the urban Liwan district.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Chen Bin, a spokeswoman for the Guangzhou Health Commission, said the city had administered more than 18 million tests in the past three days. On Sunday, the tests uncovered four new cases, including one asymptomatic patient.

“Nobody is a bystander in this war against the pandemic,” Chen said. “I urge anyone who has been to high and medium-risk areas, or has met infected patients and their close contacts to come forward … and get tested immediately,” Chen said.

Guangdong has a population of 120 million people and Guangzhou is home to 18 million but the mass testing was not limited to the populous city.

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Neighbouring cities such as Foshan and Maoming also launched blanket testing to uncover Covid-19 cases, especially asymptomatic cases or silent carriers. Zhongshan city to the south of Guangzhou also sprang to action even though it has not reported any new infections.

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