According to provincial deputy mayor Xu Jianpei, the province of Hebei in northern China on Sunday completed a mass testing program in an effort to curb the worst coronavirus outbreak in months.
About 17 million people were tested in the trip – more than 10.2 million of them in the provincial capital Shijiazhuang and 6.7 million in the city of Xingtai, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.
The mass test began last Wednesday as both cities reported the largest local outbreak on mainland China for months.
According to the country’s national health commission, on Sunday the province of Hebei reported 82 local Covid-19 cases. Among the new local cases, 77 were reported in Shijiazhuang, while five were confirmed in Xingtai.
Last week, China shut down Shijiazhuang, which has imposed the strictest measures since the country largely contained the spread of the coronavirus in March.
Residents are not allowed to leave the city and have to quarantine themselves for seven days after taking the compulsory Covid-19 test. All public transport was suspended, major highways were blocked and train and bus stations were closed and flights were canceled.