Mass Testings Gets Underway In Qingdao

Health authorities in Qingdao city said around 270,000 people have been tested for Covid-19 by noon on Monday as authorities rolled out mass tests there after new cases resurfaced.

The Qingdao Municipal Health Commission posted on social media that as of noon, 132 people have been quarantined after being identified as close contacts, of which nine have so far tested positive.

It was earlier announced that the city of nine million would get everyone tested for coronavirus in five days.

The outbreak comes soon after a long national holidays during which people thronged tourist attractions within the country as international travel remained off-bounds.

According to Qingdao authorities, about 4.47 million tourists visited the city during the National Day and mid-autumn day holiday, and it is believed that most of those visitors came from Shandong Province, namely the cities of Jinan, Weifang and Yantai.

The city had reported six new Covid-19 cases and six asymptomatic cases as of Sunday. Most of the cases were linked to the Qingdao Chest Hospital.

Qingdao has already locked down the hospital as well as the emergency department of its central hospital. Buildings that the infected individuals live in have also been locked down as part of the virus containment measures.