Wuhan tests over 11.28 mn people for Covid-19 in five days

A child being given a nucleic acid test for Covid-19 in Nantong, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province. Pic/AFP

Authorities in Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province where the pandemic originated in 2019, have completed a round of all-inclusive nucleic acid testing in five days to contain the latest Covid-19 resurgence, officials said.

More than 11.28 million residents have been tested for the novel Coronavirus during the citywide testing that began on August 3, Li Tao, deputy secretary-general of the Wuhan municipal government, told a press conference on Sunday.

This means a "basically full coverage" of all residents in Wuhan, except for children under six and university students away on summer vacation, Xinhua news agency quoted Li as saying.

The mass testing was launched after new locally transmitted infections emerged among several migrant workers on August 2. By August 7, Wuhan had registered 37 locally transmitted confirmed cases and 41 asymptomatic carriers in the latest outbreak.

Peng Houpeng, deputy director of the municipal health commission, said nine of the infections were found in the mass screening of residential compounds under closed-off management, while the other cases were found among quarantined close contacts.

Last year, Wuhan completed a comprehensive nucleic acid testing campaign, during which it tested nearly 10 million residents in 19 days.

Spl passes in France for travel, to enter eateries

A waiter checks a customer's Covid-19 health pass at the entrance of a restaurant in Strasbourg, France. Pic/AFP

People in France are now required to show a QR code proving they have a special virus pass to enjoy restaurants and cafes or travel across the country. The measure is part of a government plan to encourage more people to get the vaccine and to slow down a surge in infections, as the highly contagious Delta variant now accounts for most cases in France. Over 36 million people in France, or more than 54 per cent of the population, are fully vaccinated. The special pass is issued to people who are vaccinated against Covid-19, who have proof of recent recovery from the virus or who have a recent negative test.

Cambodia reports 58 new Delta cases

Cambodia's Ministry of Health announced that another 58 new cases of the Delta Covid-19 variant were detected, taking the kingdom's total number of such infections to 385. Laboratory testing conducted by the Pasteur Institute in Cambodia found the variant in 51 local people, including four health workers, and seven labourers returning from neighbouring Thailand, the MoH said in a statement.

NZ completes 2.2 mn vaccinations

More than 2.2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in New Zealand, including 1.38 million first and 820,000 second doses, said the Ministry of Health. A total of 20,209 doses were administered on Sunday - 15,601 first doses and 4,608 second doses, ministry statistics showed. New Zealand reported two new cases in recent returnees in managed isolation facilities.

1,58,106
No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours

20,30,17,277
Total no. of cases worldwide

42,99,016
Total no. of deaths worldwide

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