China's Jiangsu reports 20 new locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases

East China's Jiangsu Province reported 20 new locally transmitted confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the provincial health commission said Thursday.

Eighteen of the cases were reported in Nanjing, the provincial capital, while two others were reported in the city of Yangzhou.

By Wednesday, the province had reported a total of 175 locally transmitted confirmed cases (171 in Nanjing) and two local asymptomatic cases since new cluster infections began to emerge on July 20.

Nanjing, with a population of more than 9.3 million, launched the third round of all-inclusive nucleic acid testing campaign on Wednesday.

"Multiple rounds of large-scale nucleic acid testing are to find out the potential infections as soon as possible to best curb the spread of the virus. So we need the support and cooperation of all residents," said Yang Dasuo, deputy director of the Nanjing municipal health commission.

The city has also expanded areas labeled as high-risk for COVID-19 and added six medium-risk areas on Thursday.