China’s Nanjing city starts mass testing

China’s Nanjing city has started mass COVID-19 testing of its 9.3 million population and suspended a subway line as the city faces the latest local coronavirus cluster in the country.

China’s national health authorities said on Thursday a total of 12 local new COVID-19 patients were found on July 21, with 11 coming from Jiangsu province, to which Nanjing is capital city.

Jiangsu province said a total of 11 patients were found during July 20-21, while no other cities reported any cases during the period.

Out of those 11 cases, at least nine of those infected were workers at Lukou airport in Nanjing.

Nanjing authorities said late on Wednesday it would suspend a subway line linking the airport and a train station, and required another two lines to skip stations located in areas of higher virus risk.

The city has started a mass testing among of residents and those travelling to the city.

One locally confirmed patients was reported in the southwestern province of Yunnan on July 21, the National Health Commission said.

Aside from the 12 local patients, another 38 patients found among inbound travelers were reported on July 21. China reported 18 new asymptomatic cases, which it does not classify as confirmed cases, versus 23 a day earlier.

The total accumulated number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in mainland China now stands at 92,414, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,636. Reuters