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| Officials have begun citywide testing in Nanjing. (Photo by= Getty Images) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] A Covid outbreak first discovered in the Chinese city of Nanjing has spread to five provinces and Beijing, with state media calling it the most extensive contagion after Wuhan. BBC reported that almost 200 people have been infected since the virus was first detected at the city's busy airport on 20 July.
All flights from Nanjing airport will be suspended until 11 August, according to local media. State-controlled Xinhua news said that officials also began city-wide testing amid criticism for their "failure". All 9.3 million of the city's residents and visitors will be tested. Posts on social media show long lines of people queuing, and authorities have reportedly urged people to wear masks, stand one metre apart and avoid talking while they wait.
Officials said the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus was behind the infections, adding that cases had spread further because of how busy the airport is. Ding Jie, a health official in Nanjing, told reporters the cases were linked to cleaners who worked on a flight from Russia that arrived in the city on 10 July. Testing has shown that the virus has now spread to at least 13 cities including Chengdu and the capital Beijing. Local officials in Nanjing said that seven of those infected were in critical condition.
