China Upgrades Measures To Contain COVID-19 Resurgence

Nanjing, a mega-city with a population of more than 9.3 million in eastern China, has launched the third round of all-inclusive nucleic acid testing to contain the latest COVID-19 resurgence that first emerged at the Nanjing Lukou International Airport.

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On July 20, nine airport cleaners tested positive for the virus. By Thursday, the Jiangsu Province's capital city had reported 184 locally transmitted cases.  So far, the viral genome sequencing of 52 cases showed that these new cases were highly homologous, suggesting the same transmission chain, and all strains were found to be the highly infectious Delta variant, said Ding Jie, deputy director of the Nanjing Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The special location of the infections and the highly contagious nature of the Delta variant contributed to the recent surge in infections. Besides the 193 locally transmitted cases, new infections were also reported among flight passengers who visited the airport and their contacts in other parts of China, including the provinces of Guangdong, Sichuan and Liaoning.

Beijing has also reported two locally transmitted COVID-19 cases. According to the epidemiological investigation, the couple in Beijing had once traveled to Zhangjiajie, a tourist city known for its pillar-like mountains in Hunan Province.

From July 26, at least 15 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases had travel history to Zhangjiajie, and some of them were reportedly in contact with cases who had been to the Nanjing airport. No community cases were found out of the transmission chain of Nanjing airport, which indicates that the epidemic situation is still under control.

To curb the COVID-19 resurgence, Nanjing has launched three rounds of all-inclusive nucleic acid testings and urged residents not to leave the city unless necessary. Currently, the district has 88 nucleic acid testing sites, including 30 mobile ones, providing testing services for citizens nearby.

In order to enhance its nucleic acid testing capabilities, Nanjing has also built six advanced air-inflated testing labs, which can screen up to 1.8 million people every day by using the mixed testing approach.

Zhangjiajie closed all its tourist sites starting Friday morning after the latest infections. As of 6 p.m. Thursday, over 226,000 people had samples taken from them in the city, and over 120,200 tests had been completed, with one positive result. The infected woman is reported to work for a local travel agency.