A team dispatched by the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against COVID-19 has deployed 1,970 medical workers to aid Sanya City, south China's Hainan Province, said officials at a press conference on Monday.

Over 1,800 medical workers are from south China's Guangdong Province and central provinces of Hunan, Hubei and Henan, and 157 are from other cities and counties in Hainan.

Upon arrival in Sanya, the medical teams and experts were put to work testing and treating patients in temporary COVID-19 hospitals and quarantine sites. A total of 410,000 nucleic acid tests were carried out in the city on a single day at present.

Wei Dixia, a head nurse at Sanya People's Hospital, told the Xinhua News Agency that the testing site at her hospital is open 24 hours a day and has tested around 4,000 people per day.

The screening process has become more efficient, with results now issued six to eight hours after testing, said Wei.

Efforts Sanya took to combat COVID-19

In addition to the work of medics, Sanya launched all-out efforts to combat COVID-19.

A task force was established to resolve issues faced by the city's 80,000-plus stranded tourists, such as travel refunds. The city has also ordered hotels to offer 50 percent discounts for stranded guests.

In response to reports from tourists that some hotels had offered discounts after raising prices, "relevant personnel have been sent to the hotels, and the fees must be returned if the issue existed," said the CMG, citing an official from Hainan's Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports.

The city has also established a task force to ensure supplies of food and necessities for residents living under closed management.

The BA.5.1.3 subvariant of Omicron, a highly infectious and transmissible variant, made up this round of epidemic. From August 1 to 7, Sanya had registered 801 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 409 asymptomatic infections.

(With input from Xinhua)