A medical worker takes a swab sample from a resident to be tested for the COVID-19 coronavirus, in a street in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on May 15, 2020. - Authorities in the pandemic ground zero of Wuhan have ordered mass COVID-19 testing for all 11 million residents after a new cluster of cases emerged over the weekend. (Photo by STR / AFP) / China OUT (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)
The central Chinese city of Wuhan conducted more than 6.5 million novel coronavirus tests in 9 days, according to state media, a drastic move by authorities to prevent a second wave of infections in the original epicenter of the global pandemic.
Wuhan’s ambitious citywide nucleic acid testing drive came after six new cases emerged in a residential community earlier this month — the first time local infections were reported following the city’s emergence from its months-long lockdown in April.
From May 15 to May 23, swab test samples were collected from more than nine million residents, China’s state-broadcaster CCTV reported, accounting for more than 80% of the city’s total population of 11 million.
