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China adds 1,366 new local Covid-19 cases; military, doctors sent to Shanghai to test 26 million residents
Of the locally confirmed cases, 425 were reported in Shanghai, where the military and thousands of healthcare workers have been sent to help execute coronavirus tests.
The Chinese mainland added 1,366 new locally-transmitted Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the National Health Commission said on Monday (April 4, 2022). Of the locally confirmed cases, 425 were reported in Shanghai, where the military and thousands of healthcare workers have been sent to help execute coronavirus tests for all of its 26 million residents.
Shanghai, which began a two-stage lockdown last Monday that has been expanded to confine practically all residents to their homes, also registered 8,581 fresh asymptomatic Covid-19 cases. China's financial capital has now asked residents to self-test using antigen tests for Covid-19.
The new cases were detected amid the People's Liberation Army (PLA) dispatching more than 2,000 medical personnel recruited from across the army, navy and joint logistics support forces to Shanghai.
Multiple provinces such Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Beijing have sent healthcare workers to Shanghai, according to media reports, with some estimates putting the total number at more than 10,000.
It is China's largest public health response since it tackled the initial Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus was first discovered in early 2020. The PLA had reportedly dispatched over 4,000 medical personnel to the province of Hubei, where Wuhan is, back then.
Last month, China had witnessed its worst outbreak since the pandemic broke out and the country had recorded over 56,000 infections -- more than the total cases in Wuhan two years ago.
Meanwhile, the country's Covid-19 death toll remained unchanged at 4,638 and the recovery of 1,848 patients brought down the number of patients currently undergoing treatment to 25,724, including 54 in critical conditions.
