A child takes the nucleic acid test at a testing post set up at a primary school in Dongxihu District in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, May 15, 2020. Wuhan will arrange nucleic acid tests for all residents who have not been tested before, in order to better know the number of asymptomatic cases of the novel coronavirus. The decision was made as the virus-ravaged city continued to report daily increases of asymptomatic infections, which raised concerns among the public. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

China is able to conduct 1.5 million nucleic acid tests for COVID-19 every day. Testing capabilities need to be further improved as work and production resume, said a Chinese health official Saturday at a press conference in Beijing.

The National Health Commission has called on all qualified and registered medical institutions across the country to conduct nucleic acid testing since the end of January to deal with the rapid growth of COVID-19 cases, said Guo Yanhong, an official with the commission.

The next step is to step up the building and management of laboratories, biosafety management and the training of medical personnel, said Guo.