A COVID outbreak first discovered in the Chinese city of Nanjing has spread to five provinces and Beijing

State media has called the outbreak the “most extensive contagion after Wuhan”.

Approximately 200 people have been infected since the virus was first detected at the city’s busy airport on 20 July.

All flights from Nanjing airport will be suspended until 11 August, said the Global Times quoting a source.

Officials also began city-wide testing amid criticism for their “failure”

Xinhua news is reporting that all 9.3 million of the city’s residents, including those visiting, will be tested, 

Officials believe the current outbreak is linked to the highly infectious Delta variant of the virus and has spread further due to the fact that it was detected at a busy airport.

The airport management has been critisised, with a senior disciplinary body of the Communist Party saying it had “problems such as lack of supervision and unprofessional management”,

COVID testing has shown that the virus has now spread to at least 13 cities including Chengdu and the capital Beijing

However, experts quoted by the Global Times said they believed the outbreak was still at an early stage and could be controlled.

China has so far managed to largely keep the virus under control by closing borders and moving quickly to stamp out local outbreaks.