China Begins Testing All Residents of Wuhan for Coronavirus (+Video)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Wuhan has ordered officials to test its entire population of 11 million people in 10 days span after the central Chinese city reported new infections for the first time since its lockdown was lifted.
All districts in the city have been told to submit a plan laying out how they will prepare to conduct testing of everyone under their purview within 10 days, according to a document from Wuhan’s anti-virus department cited in Chinese state media reports. The plans should prioritize the testing of vulnerable groups and areas like residential compounds, the document is cited as saying, Fortune reported.
Six locally transmitted cases, reported on May 10 and 11, were found in people already under quarantine classed as being asymptomatic before testing positive, according to the local government. All six cases emerged from a single residential compound in Wuhan and were the first new infections found in the city since its lockdown was lifted on April 8.
The ambitious plan to test everyone in Wuhan reflects China’s anxiety over a resurgence of the virus, which it managed to stamp out through draconian restrictions that locked down hundreds of millions of people at its peak in February. Wuhan was sealed off from Jan. 23 until April 8 in a months-long ordeal that saw scores die as the local health system became overwhelmed.
Although the new cases in Wuhan are few and appear under control, they serve as a reminder of the risk China faces as it tries to reopen an economy that has seen its worst contraction since 1992.
