SHIJIAZHUANG -- Shijiazhuang, capital of North China's Hebei province, will soon launch the second round of citywide nucleic acid testing, Meng Xianghong, vice mayor of the city, told a press conference on Sunday.

Meng said the testing will take two days to complete, adding there will be sufficient professional personnel for sampling, information input and order maintenance at every sampling site to ensure the sampling work is carried out in an orderly and efficient manner.

Shijiazhuang reported 40 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and six asymptomatic cases in the first 12 hours of Sunday. From Jan 2 to noon on Sunday, the city has reported 369 confirmed COVID-19 cases and asymptomatic cases, all of whom are treated at designated hospitals.