China to expand coronavirus testing, boost containment effort along land borders

Security personnel patrol outside a convention center that was used as a makeshift hospital to treat patients with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Wuhan, Hubei province, China April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song

BEIJING (Reuters) – China will allocate more resources to prevent the spread of the coronavirus from its land borders, as the country still faces risks of a comeback after new clusters are identified in some regions, a central government meeting concluded on Thursday.

The meeting, chaired by premier Li Keqiang and focused on coronavirus prevention work, also decided China will expand coronavirus and antibody testing to identify infected patients and asymptomatic cases, a government statement said.

China will aim to improve testing technologies, and speed up development of antiviral drugs and vaccines, it added.

Reporting by Yawen Chen, Lusha Zhang and Se Young Lee; Editing by Catherine Evans

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source: reuters.com