Thousands checked as coronavirus testing spreads to Beijing universities

Students, faculty and staff from nearly 100 institutions line up on Sunday for tests with results expected by midnight

More than 7 million people in Chinese capital have now been tested as part of efforts to control latest outbreak

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More than 7 million people have now been tested in Beijing since the latest coronavirus outbreak in the capital in early June. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 5:25pm, 28 Jun 2020Updated: 10:58pm, 28 Jun 2020

More than 100,000 students, faculty and staff from nearly 100 universities in Beijing lined up on Sunday to be tested for Covid-19 as part of the city’s effort to curb the latest outbreak of the virus which has so far led to 311 local cases of the disease.

The mass testing brought the number of Beijing residents who had been checked to more than 7 million, city authorities said on Sunday, since a cluster of cases emerged in early June linked to the Chinese capital’s sprawling Xinfadi wholesale food market.

Tests have been carried out on people living close to markets, as well as those who work in the public domain, including banks, transport, dining facilities, beauty parlours, delivery services and community workers.

At a briefing on Saturday, the city authorities warned residents not to lower their guard, with cases spreading through different channels and locations and affecting many different industries.

Test results for the university cohort are expected by midnight on Sunday, with 20 medical facilities involved in the process. State broadcaster CCTV reported on Saturday that the next step would involve testing about 3 million people working in the rest of Beijing’s education sector.

Liu Mengyao, an administrative employee at a Beijing university, arrived on campus at about 8.30am on Sunday morning for the nucleic acid test. After swiping her identity card she was given a long cotton swab and sampling tube before joining the queue.

Liu told the South China Morning Post that the wait had not been long before a medical worker swabbed her nose, dabbing in circles, before saving the sample in the tube. “It was quick,” she said, adding that the medical staff had told her the results would be ready that night.