A medical worker takes a swab sample from a citizen for COVID-19 nucleic acid testing in Jiangdu District of Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Aug. 6, 2021. Jiangdu District of Yangzhou launched a second round of nucleic acid testing on Friday.Photo:Xinhua

Large-scale nucleic acid testing in Yangzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, must be done carefully to avoid any chances of cross-infection, Wu Zhenglong, the governor of Jiangsu, said on Sunday after one of the city's testing sites caused over 20 infections due to poor epidemic control and prevention management.

The quality and efficiency of Yangzhou's anti-epidemic measures must be further improved, with a more decisive, precise, and scientific approach, Wu said, adding that nucleic acid testing capabilities must be enhanced to meet the needs for larger-scale COVID-19 screenings, The Paper reported on Monday. 

The massive testing must be carefully arranged to avoid any chance of cross-infection, Wu stressed, and once a positive test result is found, relevant departments should immediately start the case epidemiological tracing, so that the virus can be contained before it starts spreading.

Wu's remarks came after a COVID-19 testing site in a local village caused large-scale cross-infections on July 29 due to poor management of personnel, which led to a chaotic gathering of people among whom there had found one virus carrier. 

The virus carrier, a local resident named Wang Qiang, is now a confirmed COVID-19 case, and he had passed the virus on to 23 others at the scene, reads the statement of the Yangzhou municipal watchdog released on Sunday. 

During the reexamination of Wang from July 29 to August 1, whose nucleic acid testing showed positive result the first time, the virus further spread due to slack epidemic prevention measures, the statement said. 

At least eight officials including the district health commission and the epidemic prevention and control working team, as well as the village heads were punished or criticized for the incident. 

In the face of the menacing Delta variant, which has been spreading among elderlies with many underlying health conditions, Wu said that Jiangsu will deploy all the province's medical resources to coordinate with Yangzhou, and deliver more targeted treatment that combines Chinese traditional methods with Western ones.

Yangzhou has become the latest hot spot of coronavirus with a mounting surge in infection numbers. The city reported 38 new confirmed cases on Sunday, bringing the total to some 346 since the new round of COVID-19 spike broke out on July 20. 

Global Times