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All 9m people in Chinese port city to be tested following outbreak

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BEIJING: All nine million people in Qingdao, a major Chinese port city, will be tested for Covid-19 following a tiny outbreak, health officials said yesterday.

Six cases of Covid-19 were confirmed on Sunday in Qingdao, prompting health officials to announce China's first mass testing in months.

Five districts will be tested "within three days" and the whole city "within five days", a statement from Qingdao's municipal health commission said, although it did not give a precise figure on how many people would be tested.

China has extensive, quick test capabilities and by noon yesterday the health commission said more than 277,000 people had already been tested in Qingdao, with nine positive results.

In June, large areas of the capital Beijing were subject to mass tests after the city of more than 20 million detected virus cases linked to a food market.

The total number of confirmed cases in China now stands at 85,578, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634. - AFP

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