Coronavirus: citizens in one China hotspot undergo 12 rounds of tests to halt virus but there is a cost

A city in eastern China has carried out 12 rounds of Covid-19 testing of its population in three weeks during the country’s take-no-chances effort to stop the coronavirus in its tracks.

The intensive testing – a pillar of China’s “zero-tolerance” prevention and control strategy – has helped Yangzhou in Jiangsu province to effectively suppress transmission but it has also taken a heavy toll on the city’s health care system, and caused serious disruption to people’s daily lives.