China to test whole city of 9m; Europe rolls out new virus curbs

Beijing

ALL nine million people in a major Chinese port city will be tested for Covid-19 following a tiny outbreak, health officials said Monday, as surging infection numbers in Europe force another round of containment efforts.

The novel coronavirus has been largely brought under control in China, where it first emerged last year - in stark contrast to many parts of the world still afflicted by rolling lockdowns and high case numbers.

Six cases of Covid-19 were confirmed on Sunday in Qingdao, a northeastern port city of 9.4 million, prompting health officials to announce China's first mass testing in months. Five districts will be tested "within three days" and the whole city, "within five days", a statement from Qingdao's municipal health commission said, although it did not give a precise figure on how many people would be tested.

China has extensive, quick-test capabilities and by Monday, the health commission said more than 277,000 people had already been tested in Qingdao, with nine positive results. In June, large areas of Beijing were subject to mass tests after the city of more than 20 million detected virus cases linked to a food market.

Since the virus emerged, it closed the country down and hammered the world's second-largest economy, but China has since bounced back. Hundreds of millions travelled across the country for the Golden Week holiday last week. The country is edging back to growth, and rapid tests and swift lockdowns have tamped down secondary waves of the virus.

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The picture elsewhere in the world, however, is strikingly different as countries battle new waves and alarming spikes. German authorities have shuttered Berlin bars and clubs after 11pm until the end of the month; France is said to be mulling local lockdowns in major cities.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new three-tiered alert system for Covid-19 cases in England on Monday. Like governments across Europe, his Conservative cabinet is seeking to balance bringing down the rate of new infections against frustration and concern about the economy.

The alert system, which will classify all areas as either medium, high or very high risk, is an attempt to bring transparency and uniformity to restrictions introduced to combat the spread of the disease.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: "This is a critical juncture and it is absolutely vital that everyone follows the clear guidance we have set out to help contain the virus."

Several urban centres in northern England have already been hit with a range of curbs on social life such as a ban on different households mixing, but the south has escaped stricter restrictions for now. North-western city Liverpool is expected to be the only city in the top category.

The national death toll from Covid-19 in Britain is more than 42,000 - the worst in Europe.

In the United States - the world's worst-affected nation with 7.7 million infections and 214,000 deaths - President Donald Trump controversially declared himself immune after his treatment at a Washington hospital last week.

His doctors gave him the all-clear on Saturday to return to the campaign trail, ruling him as being no longer a coronavirus transmission risk. On Sunday, he said he tested "totally negative".

But he has yet to be declared virus-free, and his immunity claim is unproven. "It looks like I'm immune for, I don't know, maybe a long time and maybe a short time, it could be a lifetime, nobody really knows, but I'm immune," he told Fox News.

However, it is not yet clear to what degree contracting Covid-19 confers immunity. Early studies suggest a few months, while newer ones have indicated it could last longer.

Meanwhile, a study by Australia's national science agency found the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 can survive on items such as banknotes and phones for up to 28 days in cool, dark conditions.

Researchers at CSIRO's disease preparedness centre tested the longevity of Sars-CoV-2 in the dark at three temperatures, showing survival rates decreased as conditions became hotter. AFP