More than three million swabs have been taken in a matter of days in Qingdao, the Chinese port city where a minor coronavirus outbreak elicited a sweeping health response, AFP reported.

In scenes which contrast with the fumbled efforts of other nations to establish effective testing regimes, Qingdao health workers in protective gear set up tents to take samples across neighbourhoods, where parents brought toddlers for testing.

Residents said on social media that community representatives informed them of their nearest testing stations, with local districts helping to organise sample collection for mass testing.

“As of 8am [...] our city has taken 3.08 million samples for nucleic testing, with 1.11 million results received,” Qingdao's health commission said in a statement.

In addition to six people with symptoms, there six asymptomatic cases have been detected so far.