Almost 10 million people in the Chinese city of Qingdao have now been screened for the coronavirus, officials said, as authorities rushed to quash an outbreak through an ambitious programme of mass testing.

Deputy Mayor Luan Xin said more than 9.9 million samples had been collected and 7.6 million results returned, adding that no new cases had been found.

The city has now confirmed 13 cases, Luan told a regular briefing, adding that health workers were on track to complete testing 9.4 million residents and another 1.5 million visitors by Friday — just five days after the programme was launched.

The mass testing follows the discovery of a dozen cases linked to the Qingdao Municipal Chest Hospital, which was treating coronavirus patients arriving from abroad, AFP reported.