Medical teams from Jiangsu, Zhejiang arrive in Hebei

SHIJIAZHUANG -- A total of 10 medical teams from two provinces in east China have been assigned to Hebei province to help with nucleic acid testing as Hebei has reported over 100 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the beginning of 2021.

Designated by the joint COVID-19 prevention, control and treatment group of the State Council, the teams consist of 209 medical workers from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

They rushed to the provincial capital Shijiazhuang late Thursday, and joined in the nucleic acid testing work in the cities of Shijiazhuang and Xingtai upon arrival, the publicity department of Hebei said Friday.

Each team brought with them five sets of testing equipment and 50,000 nucleic acid testing kits.

The latest resurgence of the virus in Hebei started on Jan 2, when a 61-year-old woman in the rural area of Gaocheng District in Shijiazhuang was diagnosed with COVID-19.

By Thursday, Hebei had 123 locally transmitted confirmed cases in hospitals, with five of them in severe condition. There are 181 locally transmitted asymptomatic cases currently under medical observation, the provincial health commission said. All of the cases are in the cities of Shijiazhuang and Xingtai.