The entire population of the Chinese city of Wuhan, where COVID-19 first emerged, will be tested for the virus.

Chinese authorities are racing to curb a widespread outbreak, that is being fuelled by the highly transmissible Delta variant.

Fresh travel restrictions have been imposed as authorities battle to contain the outbreak, which has spread to around half of China’s 32 provinces.

This includes the Hubei Province, home to the city of Wuhan, where the first cases of COVID-19 were identified.

More than 400 local cases have been reported in China since mid-July, including 7 new cases in Wuhan on Monday.

State-run media outlet The Global Times reports that the outbreak is “posing great challenges to the country as it deals with the worst epidemic in months”.

The outbreak was triggered by cleaners at Nanjing Lukou International Airport. Xinhua News reports that the cleaners did not follow strict hygiene measures.

More than 1.6 billion vaccine doses have been administered in China, but the exact number of fully vaccinated people is not clear.

Entire population of Wuhan to be tested

The new cases are the city’s first local infections since June 2020, prompting a testing blitz.

The city, home to 11 million people, is “swiftly launching comprehensive nucleic acid testing of all residents”, according to senior Wuhan official Li Tao.

The first reported COVID-19 cases were in Wuhan in November 2019. The outbreak was quashed through a strict lockdown that lasted 76 days.

But the exact origin of the virus remains unclear.

The World Health Organisation has proposed a second phase of its investigation into the origins of COVID-19.

But Beijing has rejected the WHO’s proposal for a more rigorous probe.