Shanghai completes testing 26 mn people as China reports new Covid variant

Shanghai completed nucleic acid tests of its over 26 million residents, and perhaps the world to stem COVID-19 surge, while another city Suzhou reported a new variant of coronavirus.

Shanghai on Monday completed nucleic acid tests of its over 26 million residents, the largest exercise of its kind in any city in the country and perhaps the world to stem COVID-19 surge, while another city Suzhou reported a new variant of coronavirus.

China had ordered mass antigen tests followed by nucleic acid tests on Monday for all 26.30 million residents of its largest city amid efforts to contain the recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the metropolis.

Shanghai city has completed "mission impossible" of sampling as of around 7 pm, ahead of schedule, according to city health authorities, state-run Global Times reported.

The aim of this nucleic acid testing in Shanghai is to help recover the city's dynamic zero-COVID state, experts told the daily.

Also, a new variant of COVID-19 has been identified in Suzhou, Global Times reported.

Suzhou in east China's Jiangsu Province, which borders Shanghai, discovered a confirmed coronavirus disease patient infected with a mutation VOC/Omicron variant BA.1.1, unidentified in previously found strains worldwide, posing new threats to the already dangerous situation in the region, the report said.

Like in Wuhan where coronavirus first emerged in December 2019, China mobilised about 38,000 medical workers from across the country to aid Shanghai in the fight against the Omicron variant, the largest number of nationwide medical aid since Wuhan in early 2020, official media here reported.

When the coronavirus engulfed Wuhan, China had mobilised thousands of medical personnel from all over the country and built special facilities to cope up with the most contagious virus.

A similar effort is being made in Shanghai where the citizens have been ordered to take twin tests.

A total of 15 province-level regions have sent medical teams to help Shanghai to combat the city's worst outbreak since 2020, according to Chinese media reports.

Most of the medical staff have arrived in Shanghai by military planes and trains to help with the mass nucleic acid testing, while others will help ease the burden on staff at makeshift hospitals.

China dispatched similar teams to Hong Kong which is also battling a massive outbreak.

Experts and residents also believe Shanghai's situation is completely different from Wuhan two years ago, recognizing apparently improved diagnostic capacity and efficiency during the current wave, as well as more diversified, pragmatic and targeted treatment methods, the report said.

In what was stated to be a big surge of Omicron cases, China reported 13,228 cases on Sunday - the highest during the recent outbreak.

Of the local confirmed cases reported on Sunday, 836 were in Jilin, 425 in Shanghai, and 16 in Fujian, China's health commission said.

Besides, a total of 39 new imported COVID-19 cases were reported across the mainland, compared with 51 in the previous day.

The number of COVID-19 patients currently undergoing treatment stood at 25,724, including 54 in critical conditions, it said.

There was no new COVID-19 death and the toll has remained unchanged at 4,638.

Sunday also saw 11,862 new asymptomatic cases on the Chinese mainland including 8,581 in Shanghai and 2,742 in Jilin.