China is offering its Shanghai residents easier methods to get tested for the coronavirus as an attempt to minimise the number of cases in the country, hoping to boost its economy once again. 

The city government announced trough Weibo, that nucleic acid tests can be booked and paid for by anyone in the country in specific hospitals and clinics. 

This will be done so to help companies and schools resume operations.

During a meeting on Wednesday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang claimed that there is a need for large-scale nucleic acid and antibody testing in order to ensure that the country would be able to control the pandemic and that it does not continue to spread easily. 

Having seen negative impacts on the economy, companies and Chinese leaders are hoping to help the country pick up momentum. 

Moreover, during the Wednesday meeting, leaders stated that there must be an increase in the production of efficient testing equipment, which will then be given out to hospitals, ports, and other critical places.

The U.S. has mainly criticised China during pandemic, but the Asian country remains ahead of Washington in the number of mass testing for the virus. The U.S currently has over 840,000 cases and has been unable to track the virus due to the small number of tests carried out.