Medical workers prepare to take throat swabs from residents for COVID-19 testing at a community in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on Tuesday. CHEN YAN/FOR CHINA DAILY
Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, has completed nucleic acid tests for more than 1 million people as of Tuesday since it began a free mass test campaign across the city on July 18, city officials said during a virus control and prevention conference on Wednesday.
"As of Tuesday, the citizens of Tianshan district, a downtown area in Urumqi where the first confirmed case of COVID-19 infection was found, and over 340,000 people in Shaybak district have completed the test," said Shang Yulan, deputy secretary-general of the city's government, adding that the remaining areas are ready and gradually starting testing.
Shang said the regional government dispatched leaders at the regional and city levels to take charge of 24 testing organizations in the citywide campaign.
Urumqi reported nine locally transmitted COVID-19 infections and 14 asymptomatic cases on Tuesday, bringing the total confirmed cases to 62 and asymptomatic cases to 69 in the city since the outbreak of the virus on July 15.
