Nearly 500 students from China Communication University have been sent to a quarantine center after some cases of Covid-19 were detected in a dormitory of China's leading journalism faculty.

The 488 students, along with 19 professors and five assistants, were transferred from the campus in the Chinese capital, Beijing, by bus starting Friday evening.

Quarantine centers include field hospitals as well as converted stadiums and exhibition centers, which have been criticized due to overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions and food supplies.

Outbreaks in various parts of China in recent weeks have led to the total or partial containment of several cities, including Chengdu (center) or Guiyang (south), under China's Covid-19 'zero case' policy.

The lockdowns have led to online criticism and isolated confrontations between residents and health professionals and police officers, as well as a major impact on the economy, affecting global supply chains for electronics and other products.

The 'zero-case' policy consists of isolating all infected people and their close contacts in hospitals or designated facilities, strict border control, massive PCR testing campaigns, and the blockade of neighborhoods, districts, and entire cities.

About 65 million Chinese residents are currently confined, although China today recorded only 1,248 new cases of domestic transmission. Most of those infected had no symptoms.

On Friday, Chinese health authorities announced the extension of mass testing for Covid-19 to cities where there are no new infections, to "monitor" and "quickly alert" if cases are detected.

The measure has been imposed in recent months in major cities across the country. In Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen, it is necessary to present a negative result for the test, taken within the last 48 hours, to access public spaces, including parks, commercial spaces or transportation.

It is also necessary to scan the QR code, a two-dimensional version of the barcode, placed at the entrance of all buildings, as well as on public transportation or cabs.

On the streets of major cities there are thousands of places to perform free PCR tests for residents.

According to official figures, since the beginning of the pandemic, 246,328 people have tested positive for the virus in China, among whom 5,226 have died. (Lusa)