China orders mass testing as Delta outbreak spreads

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China has announced a mass coronavirus testing campaign of all 12 million residents in Wuhan, while also suspending many domestic flights and trains, Reuters reports.

The news comes amid a worsening outbreak of the Delta variant that has now reached the city where the pandemic originated in late 2019.

Cases of the delta variant have now been confirmed in over 35 cities in 17 of China’s 33 provinces and regions.

The cities of Nanjing and Yangzhou have cancelled all domestic flights, and Beijing has halted long-distance trains from 23 stations. Wuhan is the latest city to undergo city-wide testing.

Neighbouring Myanmar has also seen a significant rise in Delta cases. An outbreak in Zhengzhou, where flooding killed about 300 people last month, was believed to originate from Myanmar.

An earlier outbreak occurred in the Yunnan province which shares a border with Myanmar. According to ABC newscast, government-affiliated scientists claim that Chinese vaccines may be less effective against the new variants of the coronavirus.

Currently, only Chinese vaccines are being given in China, where authorities say that over 1.6 billion doses have been administered.

The Brussels Times


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