China reports 76 new COVID-19 cases, Nanjing starts 2nd mass testing

BEIJING: China reported 76 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday (Jul 25), up from 32 cases a day earlier, as Nanjing city starts a second round of mass testing.

China has taken a zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19 cases, quickly tracing and testing wide swathes of its population to prevent the spread of the virus.

Local infections accounted for 40 of the new cases, compared with only five a day earlier, the National Health Commission said in a statement on Monday.

Thirty-nine of the local cases were reported in the eastern province of Jiangsu, and one in the northeastern province of Liaoning, it said.

READ: China rejects WHO plan for COVID-19 origin study, says it 'defies science'

Nanjing, the capital city of Jiangsu province, was conducting a second round of nucleic acid testing of its 9.3 million residents on Sunday, the official China Daily said on Monday.

The city raised its COVID-19 risk level in one area to high, while changing other areas to a medium risk level, the paper added. The move comes after it suspended its subway line and took other measures to control the new cluster.

Many of the positive cases in the first round of testing last week were in an area close to the Lukou International Airport, said the paper, citing Nanjing's Health Commission.

The number of new asymptomatic cases - which China does not classify as confirmed cases - rose to 24 from 17 cases a day earlier.

Total confirmed COVID-19 cases in mainland China stand at 92,605, and the death toll remains at 4,636.

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