19 new cases in China amid mass testing

Chinese authorities have begun a new testing programme following a fresh outbreak of the new coronavirus linked to a food market in Beijing.

Officials claim more than three million tests have been carried out after health workers identified the so-called "second wave of the virus".

Footage from U.K. broadcaster Sky shows a facility that took just days to make testing dozens of people at a time.

China reported 19 newly confirmed cases of the coronavirus on Thursday amid the mass testing in Beijing.

Authorities say the outbreak appears to have been brought under control.

Of the new cases, 13 were reported in Beijing and one in the neighboring province of Hebei.

Five others were brought by Chinese travelers from overseas, according to the National Health Commission.

No new deaths were reported and 382 people remained in treatment for COVID-19, with another 110 in isolation.

China has reported a total of 4,634 deaths from among 83,4449 cases of COVID-19 since the virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.

Case numbers both nationally and in Beijing were up by single digits from Wednesday but there was no sign of any further spread.

This month’s outbreak in Beijing saw 249 people infected, most of them with links to the city’s biggest wholesale market, leading authorities to lock down some communities and cancel classes.

Since then, 3 million test samples have been taken from 2.43 million people in the city.