[ad_1]
BEIJING (Reuters): The Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the Chinese coronavirus outbreak, plans to conduct nucleic acid testing throughout the city over a 10-day period, according to an internal document seen by Reuters and two sources familiar with the situation.
All city districts have been asked to submit a detailed test plan by Tuesday (May 12) for their respective area, according to the document.
The Wuhan Health Authority could not immediately be reached for comment outside business hours.
The city of 11 million people reported its first batch of new infections over the weekend, after the one-month shutdown was lifted on April 8.
Wuhan on Monday reported his first cluster of infections since the city shutdown was lifted a month ago, fueling concerns of a broader resurgence of the disease.
The new infections sounded cautious amid efforts to ease coronavirus-related restrictions in China as companies restart and people return to work.
Wuhan reported five new confirmed cases, all from the same residential complex. One was the wife of an 89-year-old patient reported a day earlier in the first confirmed case in the central city in more than a month.
“Currently, the task of epidemic prevention and control in the city is still very heavy,” the Wuhan Health Authority said in a statement. “We must resolutely contain the risk of a rebound.”
All of the latter cases were previously classified as asymptomatic, people who test positive for the virus and are capable of infecting others but do not show clinical signs such as fever.
The number of asymptomatic cases in China is unknown, as they only appear on the radar of health officials when they show positives during tests conducted as part of tracking contacts and health checks.
China does not include asymptomatic cases in its overall confirmed case count, now at 82,918, until they show signs of infection. Mainland China has reported 4,633 deaths.
Hundreds of asymptomatic cases are being monitored in Wuhan, who was released on April 8 after a multi-month blockade.
The number of new cases reported in China since April has been small compared to the thousands confirmed every day in February, thanks to a national detection, testing and quarantine regime.
The government said on Friday that cinemas, museums and other venues would gradually reopen, despite restrictions, including compulsory reservations and a limit on the number of visitors.
The Shanghai financial center reopened some nightclubs, and Walt Disney Co reopened its Shanghai Disneyland Park on Monday to a small number of visitors.
New outbreaks in China in the past two months have mainly developed in residential complexes or hospitals.
The national health authority requested stronger protocols in laboratories handling samples of coronavirus strains and human nucleic acid tests, and such tests should be carried out in appropriate laboratory settings.
The transportation of samples and material that could be infectious should be strictly managed and accounted for, said the National Health Commission. – Reuters
[ad_2]
