Authorities in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou have launched a massive coronavirus testing campaign in nine districts in response to a surge in infections, after hitting 2,400 positives in one day.
Canton has confirmed in the last 24 hours a total of 2,377 positives, mostly asymptomatic, thus chaining for the third consecutive day of contagion figures above a thousand in the midst of a new outbreak recorded just over two weeks ago.
Among the districts in which this detection campaign will be carried out is Haizhu, epicenter of this new outbreak -it accumulates more than 90 percent of the contagions- and which will be confined until the weekend.
The city authorities have renewed their appeal to the population to respect the prevention measures, to be alert to possible symptoms and to be tested for the virus because «there is still a risk of community spread».
However, residents of Haizhu district have pointed out that, despite the guidelines set by the authorities, much of the population does not comply with the social distancing largely due to the urban structure.
Alice Qiu, a resident of Haizhu, told Bloomberg that the district is among the oldest areas of the city, full of densely populated buildings built along streets and not enclosed in residential complexes, which makes confinement difficult.
Despite this, commercial activity has declined significantly and several establishments have closed their doors in order to comply with the guidelines of the local authorities, who have announced that there will be punishments for those who break the rules.
China is in the midst of a new coronavirus outbreak after nearly 7,500 positives were detected in the last 24 hours. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Asian giant has recorded just over one million cases and 5,226 deaths, thanks in part to the strict restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the disease.
