Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has begun to conduct citywide nucleic acid testing in phases after it reported locally transmitted COVID-19 cases recently, local authorities said Saturday.
Since Friday, the city has conducted nucleic acid tests in communities which had confirmed, suspected or asymptomatic cases, close contacts or patients with a fever. The testing will be conducted in other communities, enterprises and institutions in the second phase, said Zhang Wei, director of the Urumqi health commission, at a press conference.
The epidemic situation in the city is controllable overall, but the prevention and control situation is grim, Zhang said.
From Wednesday to Saturday noon, Xinjiang reported a total of 17 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 23 asymptomatic cases, all in Urumqi, said the regional health commission.
All the confirmed and asymptomatic cases were admitted to the region's infectious disease hospital. As of Saturday afternoon, there had been no serious cases, according to the commission.
