SHIJIAZHUANG, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province, has found seven COVID-19 positive cases since it launched citywide nucleic acid testing on Wednesday, local authorities said at a press conference.

As of 5 p.m., the city had sampled over 2 million people, with 593,757 of them sent for testing, said Meng Xianghong, deputy mayor of Shijiazhuang.

The city has mobilized nearly 20,000 people from medical institutions at the provincial and municipal level and third-party institutions to sample its citizens.

The worst-hit Gaocheng District at Shijiazhuang had completed tests of 639,792 samples by 6 p.m. The remaining sample tests of residents will conclude tonight, Meng said.

Hebei province on Tuesday reported 20 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and 43 asymptomatic cases. Most of the new confirmed and asymptomatic ones occurred in Shijiazhuang.

By Tuesday, there were 39 confirmed cases in Hebei. A total of 78 locally transmitted asymptomatic ones are under medical observation in the province.