China to test city of 9m in five days
All nine million people in a major Chinese port city will be tested for Covid-19 following a tiny outbreak, health officials said yesterday, as surging infection numbers in Europe force another round of containment efforts.
The virus has been largely brought under control in China -- where it first emerged last year -- in stark contrast to many parts of the world still afflicted by rolling lockdowns and high case numbers.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was set to announce a new three-tiered alert system for coronavirus cases in England later yesterday, while German authorities shuttered Berlin bars and clubs after 11:00pm until the end of the month and France is believed to be mulling local lockdowns in major cities.
Six cases of Covid-19 were confirmed on Sunday in China's Qingdao -- a northeastern port city of 9.4 million -- prompting health officials to announce China's first mass testing in months.
Five districts will be tested "within three days" and the whole city "within five days", a statement from Qingdao's municipal health commission said, although it did not give a precise figure on how many people would be tested.
China has extensive, quick test capabilities and by yesterday noon the health commission said more than 277,000 people had already been tested in Qingdao, with nine positive results.
In June large areas of the capital Beijing were subject to mass tests after the city of more than 20 million detected virus cases linked to a food market.
China has bounced back since the virus emerged, closing the country down and hammering the world's second largest economy.
Hundreds of millions travelled across the country for the "Golden Week" holiday last week as the country edges back to growth, while rapid tests and swift lockdowns have tamped down secondary waves of the virus.
The picture elsewhere in the world, however, is strikingly different as countries battle new waves and alarming spikes.
THREE-TIER SYSTEM
Britain's leader Johnson was set to unveil his tiered system yesterday, with northwestern Liverpool expected to be the only city placed in the top category.
Like governments across Europe, Johnson's Conservative cabinet is seeking to balance bringing down the rate of new infections against frustration and concern about the economy.
The new alert system, which will classify all areas as either "medium", "high" or "very high" risk, is an attempt to bring transparency and uniformity to restrictions introduced to combat the spread of the disease.
"This is a critical juncture and it is absolutely vital that everyone follows the clear guidance we have set out to help contain the virus," a Downing Street spokesperson said.
Several urban centres in northern England have already been hit with a range of curbs on social life such as a ban on different households mixing, but the south has escaped stricter restrictions for now.
The national death toll from coronavirus in Britain is more than 42,000 -- the worst in Europe.
Globally more than 37 million people have now been infected, and at least 1.07 million have died.
Malaysia announced sweeping new curbs around the capital and worst-hit Sabah state yesterday as the country fights a new coronavirus surge.
In India, Delhi authorities have stopped putting notices outside the homes of people infected with coronavirus because this has amplified the social stigma associated with the disease and in turn caused others to hide their illness, officials said yesterday.
Early on during the outbreak in the Indian capital, officials would paste a poster on the homes of people in quarantine after they had tested positive for the virus to make sure everyone in the neighbourhood was careful. It also deterred people from violating the quarantine.
India's total cases stood at 7.12 million yesterday, health ministry data showed, behind only the United States which is approaching the 8 million mark, reports Reuters.
VIRUS 'SURVIVES 28 DAYS'
Meanwhile a study by Australia's national science agency found the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 can survive on items such as banknotes and phones for up to 28 days in cool, dark conditions.
Researchers at CSIRO's disease preparedness centre tested the longevity of SARS-CoV-2 in the dark at three temperatures, showing survival rates decreased as conditions became hotter, reports AFP.
The scientists found that at 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit), SARS-CoV-2 was "extremely robust" on smooth surfaces -- like mobile phone screens -- surviving for 28 days on glass, steel and plastic banknotes.
At 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), the survival rate dropped to seven days and plunged to just 24 hours at 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
The virus survived for shorter periods on porous surfaces such as cotton -- up to 14 days at the lowest temperatures and less than 16 hours at the highest -- the researchers said.
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