The number of institutions designated to carry out nucleic acid testing in Beijing increased from 98 to 124 over the past week, Gao Xiaojun, a spokesman for the municipal health commission, announced at the city's regular press conference on June 21.

The daily nucleic acid testing capacity of the city has surged from 100,000 to more than 230,000 as of June 20, amid efforts to contain the resurgence of domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases.

In mid-January this year, all 17 of the city's disease control centers had nucleic acid testing capabilities. In early February, a total of 10 hospitals also developed the capabilities. From March to April, this number gradually increased, so that by the end of April, 61 institutions were able to carry out tests, with a daily testing capacity of 47,000 samples. In early June, the number of nucleic acid testing institutions in Beijing had reached 98, which were capable of testing 100,000 samples per day.

Beijing has worked promptly to increase its nucleic acid testing capacity for the new coronavirus amid the latest outbreak, which is linked with the Xinfadi wholesale market. As of June 20, the number of nucleic acid detection institutions has reached 124, among which, 20 are disease control centers, 73 are hospitals, and 31 are medical laboratories, said Gao.

Since June 13, people working in the Xinfadi wholesale market — which was linked with most of the newly reported cases — residents in nearby communities, and those who visited the market have been required to take nucleic acid tests.

The city has also prioritized the testing of employees in restaurants, grocery stores, wholesale markets as well as courier and food delivery firms, according to the municipal government.

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