Following an outbreak of 12 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in the port city of Qingdao, China plans to test 9 million people to tackle the issue head-on a prevent a wider outbreak. Since mid-August, China has been largely free of the infectious disease, with all new cases reportedly imported from other countries. The cluster outbreak in Qingdao has been traced back to a hospital treating imported infections, according to the city’s Municipal Health Commission earlier this morning.
Mass testing is already underway, with the Qingdao Chest Hospital under lockdown and 114,862 people, staff, and patients testing negative as of this morning. However, China still plans to test the entire city, a population of nine million, repeating previous mass testing tactics as a method of eradicating catching before they occur. Although the extreme response has been costly, it has also been successful in keeping China’s infection rate extremely low after the initial outbreak was squashed in late March.
Read More: China to test 9 million people as coronavirus cluster detected in city of Qingdao
