Guangzhou starts new round of mass nucleic acid testing

City rushes to find possible infections to prevent situation from getting worse

A new mass nucleic acid testing campaign was launched in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province, on Monday, with some districts having already gone through two to three rounds in order to discover possible COVID-19 infections.

The city's health commission said on Monday that it detected 27 new confirmed local cases and 11 asymptomatic carriers from 2 pm on Sunday to 6 pm on Monday. A total of 61 infections have been reported in the current outbreak since Friday.

The transmission chains of the latest COVID-9 outbreak in Guangzhou were clearly related to clusters in workplaces and family gatherings, according to the city's health commission.

Starting on Monday, all residents in Guangzhou have been asked not to leave the city unless absolutely necessary.

"Those who must leave Guangzhou for other cities are required to have a negative result from a nucleic acid test done within 48 hours of departure starting Monday," said Chen Bin, spokeswoman for the commission.

She also urged residents to go out less to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus in local communities.

In the city, all kindergartens, primary and middle schools, colleges and universities have temporarily suspended in-person classes as of Monday and students are required to take their courses online.

All restaurants in the city's Yuexiu and Haizhu districts are suspending dine-in services and only offer takeouts.

Wu Linbo, deputy director-general of the Guangzhou government, said construction of a new makeshift hospital in Pazhou International Convention and Exhibition Center in Guangzhou's Haizhu district－a precautionary measure to handle a possible surge of cases－is progressing.

The makeshift hospital is expected to be able to start operations in a week, Wu said.

He added the operations of major hospitals, medical institutions and medical services for the city's elderly residents, pregnant women, disabled persons and those in need will not be affected by the outbreak.

Precautionary restrictions have also been put in place in Wuhan, Hubei province, in order to contain the epidemic to the smallest scope possible.

Starting on Monday, the city's subway passengers need to have a negative result from a nucleic acid test done within 48 hours in order to take the subway. They must also have their temperature checked, wear masks and scan the health codes of their subway cars to submit trip information, operator Wuhan Metro said.

Wuhan, which was hit hardest during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, reported 12 new asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 on Sunday, according to the city's health commission.

In the northeastern city of Changchun, Jilin province, authorities continue to strengthen and expand its zero-COVID status at the community level in some areas of the city, officials said on Monday.

"Jiutai district is sparing no effort in trying to get enterprises in the district back to work in successive groups," Zhang Baozong, deputy director of the provincial publicity department, said at a news conference.

Five enterprises in Jiutai resumed operation on Sunday, Jilin Daily reported.

Under COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control requirements, all staff members in the restarted enterprises are required to take daily COVID-19 rapid antigen tests and at least one nucleic acid test every week.

The plant areas of the enterprises will be put under lockdown management, with no vehicles allowed to enter. Buffer zones will also be built to transfer products and receive raw materials and daily supplies.

Jiutai, the worst-hit area of the city in the latest outbreak of COVID-19, achieved zero-COVID status in communities on Saturday, officials said at a news conference.

As of Saturday, the district had reported 9,222 confirmed cases since March 3, accounting for around 94 percent of the city's total cases, said Huang Xianyu, Party secretary of the district.

Jilin province reported 187 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 797 asymptomatic carriers on Sunday, the provincial health commission said.

"Currently, daily supplies for residents in Changchun are stabilizing," Zhang said. "Fresh vegetables and other reserves are relatively sufficient and delivery channels are smoothing out to help meet the basic needs of residents."

Zhang Yu in Shijiazhuang and Han Junhong in Changchun contributed to this story.