 China
reports most COVID-19 cases since end-Jan, Nanjing starts 2nd mass
testing
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[July 26, 2021]
BEIJING (Reuters) - China reported 76 new
COVID-19 cases on July 25, the highest daily total since January amid a
surge of local infections in the eastern city of Nanjing, which started
a second round of mass testing and banned taxis from leaving to curb the
outbreak.
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 China has taken a zero-tolerance approach to COVID infections,
quickly testing swathes of its population and tracing the contacts
of any positive cases to prevent the spread of the virus.
Local infections accounted for 40 of the new cases, compared with
only five a day earlier, the National Health Commission said in a
statement on Monday.
Thirty-nine of the local cases were reported in the eastern province
of Jiangsu, where Nanjing is the capital, and one in the
northeastern province of Liaoning, it said.
Of the 39 cases, 38 were detected in Nanjing, and one in Suqian
city, the provincial government said on its website.
As of the end of July 25, Nanjing had reported a total of 75 local
cases since its latest outbreak emerged last week, a health official
said in a news briefing on Monday.
Taxis and cars on ride-hailing platforms should not leave the city,
and eight long-distance shuttle bus stations will be suspended from
July 27, Nanjing authorities said on Monday on social media.
The number of new asymptomatic cases in China - which the country
does not classify as confirmed cases - rose to 24 from 17 cases a
day earlier.
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Among the symptomless cases, four were local infections - one in
Jiangsu, one in Guangdong, one in Jiangsu's neighbouring province of
Anhui, and one in Sichuan province.
Many of the positive cases in the first round of testing Nanjing
launched last week were in an area close to Lukou International
Airport.
Nanjing city government said on Sunday it had started a second round
of nucleic acid testing of its 9.3 million residents.
The city has suspended a subway line linking the airport and a train
station and taken other measures to control the new cluster.
Total confirmed COVID-19 cases in mainland China stand at 92,605,
and the death toll remains at 4,636.
(Reporting by Colin Qian, Stella Qiu, Engen Tham and Roxanne Liu.
Editing by Gerry Doyle and Mark Potter)
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