4 Covid-19 cases spark mass testing in south China city
- Millions of residents in Dongguan warned of legal consequences if they fail to comply as authorities race to stop the spread
- Meanwhile, tracing is under way to identify contacts of China’s first cases of the Omicron variant
Local authorities said the move was intended to stop the further spread of the coronavirus and those who did not comply would face legal consequences.
Dongguan, in Guangdong province, first reported two positive coronavirus cases on Monday. A further two asymptomatic cases were confirmed after midnight on Tuesday.
Provincial capital Guangzhou during routine testing on Wednesday found an asymptomatic case, a driver who was in charge of incoming travellers. Health authorities said preliminary investigation showed the person was possibly infected when transporting imported cases. The variant involved has yet to be determined.
China’s “dynamic zero-Covid strategy” aims to control outbreaks as quickly as possible through mass testing and restrictions on movement and transport. However, infections are still breaking out in the country in waves, some caused by cases coming in from border regions.
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China records second Omicron case, further tightens measures to contain latest Covid-19 outbreaks
Of 50 local confirmed infections reported nationwide on Wednesday, as many as 45 were in two cities in the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang. Three other cases were found in the northern border city of Manzhouli, in Inner Mongolia.