Beijing launches mass testing as China reports slight drop in daily COVID cases

Shanghai began testing all hospital staff for the disease on Thursday after two such workers tested positive. The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to 119 from 113 cases a day earlier.

Beijing launched mass COVID-19 testing in parts of city on Friday, while Shanghai was testing all hospital staff, as China battles the worst outbreak since March 2020.

China reported a slight decline in new daily COVID-19 cases on Friday - 103 from 144 cases a day earlier. Of these new cases, 94 were local transmissions: northeastern Heilongjiang reported 47 new cases, while Jilin province reported 19 new cases. Shanghai reported six new cases, while the capital Beijing reported three new cases.

Some districts in Beijing launched mass COVID-19 tests following several consecutive days of new cases in the Chinese capital, with long queues forming in certain parts of the town. Shanghai began testing all hospital staff for the disease on Thursday after two such workers tested positive.

The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, rose to 119 from 113 cases a day earlier. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Mainland China now stands at 88,804, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,635.

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