Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


China Completes First Round of COVID Testing in Locked-down City

VOA News

   The initial round of mass testing for the coronavirus has been
   completed in Shijiazhuang, a city of 11 million that was locked down
   Wednesday after 39 new cases of the virus surfaced, the city's mayor
   said Saturday.

   Mayor Ma Yujun said at a news conference that a second round of testing
   would begin soon in the capital of Hebei province, which was sealed off
   as travel restrictions were imposed in the rest of the region of 76
   million people that encircles Beijing.

   On Tuesday, Hebei authorities put the province into "wartime mode,"
   enabling authorities to launch a collaborative campaign involving
   contact tracing and distribution of medical supplies.

   The aggressive approach taken by Chinese authorities is being adopted
   in other parts of the Asia-Pacific region, in sharp contrast to the
   more deliberate virus containment efforts under way in the U.S. and
   Europe.

   The United States had more cases Saturday than anyplace else, with more
   than 22 million of the world's nearly 90 million infections, according
   to Johns Hopkins University. India was second with more than 10.4
   million cases.

   The U.S. reported more than 300,000 new COVID cases Friday, close to
   its January 2 record.

.