City Where COVID Began Sees Its First Delta Cases

The delta variant has emerged in the city where the original virus got its start. As a result, the city of Wuhan, China, plans to test all 11 million residents, reports Reuters. Though the coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan in 2019, the city had reported no new local cases in more than a year. That changed Monday, when health authorities confirmed three locally transmitted infections. Delta has cropped up in more than 35 cities around the country, notes the AP, and while the total case number is currently in the hundreds, that is expected to change quickly.

Wuhan is "swiftly launching comprehensive nucleic acid testing of all residents," a senior official announced Tuesday, per the AFP. The cities of Nanjing and Yangzhou have stopped all domestic flights, and Beijing has tested millions of its own residents and blocked tourists from visiting the capital even though it is peak travel season. The number of confirmed cases in Beijing was believed to be in the single digits as of Tuesday, as is the case in Shanghai. (More Wuhan stories.)