Beijing, Nov. 21, (dpa/GNA) – Mass coronavirus testing in Tianjin began on Saturday following a recent uptick in coronavirus cases in the northeastern Chinese city, state news agency Xinhua reported.
All residents in the sprawling Binhai New Area, home to the largest port in north China, will undergo testing in response to a cluster of traces that has been traced back to the district’s Kanhaixuan residential community.
The Binhai New Area district is home to some 3 million people.
China on Friday reported seven new locally transmitted cases of the coronavirus – five in Tianjin and two in Shanghai. Shanghai also reported nine new imported cases of the virus.
All five of the new cases in Tianjin, as well as a further three asymptomatic cases not included in official results, were linked to Kanhaixuan.
Earlier this month, Binhai New Area experienced a coronavirus scare when a cold storage employee tested positive after handling a shipment of frozen pork knuckle from Germany.
A spokesperson for Germany’s Agriculture Minister responded with scepticism after the shipment was blamed, pointing to federal data showing no evidence of previous infections from eating meat or contact with surfaces.
GNA