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Students wearing protective face masks to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus walk in social distancing when they arrive at a high school in Wuhan in central China Hubei Province on Wednesday May 6, 2020. (Chinatopix via AP)
Wuhan plans to run coronavirus tests on the entire population of the Chinese city after new cases emerge for the first time in weeks in the cradle of the global pandemic, state media reported Tuesday.
Officials were ordered to submit plans by Tuesday to plan to administer nucleic acid tests on all residents of the city of 11 million people, according to an official notice released by the media.
“Each district must make plans and arrangements to conduct nucleic acid testing on the entire population in its jurisdiction within a 10-day time limit,” the notice said, although it was unclear when the tests would begin.
The plan came after Wuhan reported the first group of new COVID-19 infections since the city reopened its doors after a 76-day blockade on April 8.
Six new cases were reported Sunday and Monday from a residential complex in the Dongxihu district.
But an official with the Dongxihu District Epidemic Control and Prevention Command Office told AFP that “they have not received any news about this notice yet.”
Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told the state-run CCTV network that “it was not necessary” for everyone in Wuhan to be tested.
“Neighborhoods without any case do not need to evaluate all people,” Wu said, while large-scale evaluation should focus on “key jobs” and other criteria.
China has largely controlled the virus, but has come close to being hit by a second wave as it has lifted blockades and restrictions across the country.
Virus clusters have emerged in recent weeks in the northeast Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, which border Russia.
With the appearance of the virus in other nations, China has prohibited the majority of foreigners from entering the country.
Wuhan has reported 3,869 deaths since the new coronavirus emerged there in December, accounting for the majority of deaths in China. Scientists believe the virus jumped from animals to humans at a market that sold wildlife in the city.
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