'COVID-19 Recurrence' Wuhan City, China Conducts Mass Testing for Over 10 Million Residents

Bloomberg News "Reflecting China's Fear"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Wuhan City in China has decided to conduct mass testing of over 11 million citizens following a resurgence of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. This decision comes amid growing concerns of a second wave after a cluster infection occurred following the lifting of the lockdown in Wuhan.

On the 12th (local time), Bloomberg News reported, citing a document from Wuhan's epidemic prevention department published by Chinese state media, that all districts in Wuhan have been required to submit a plan to test all residents within 10 days. The highest priority for testing is densely populated residential areas and vulnerable groups.

According to local authorities, six locally transmitted cases detected over two days on the 10th and 11th of this month were classified as asymptomatic infections before testing positive and were placed under quarantine. All six cases were found in a single residential area in Wuhan. These are the first confirmed cases discovered since the lockdown in Wuhan was lifted on April 8 last month.

Bloomberg noted that Wuhan's actions reflect the Chinese government's fear of a resurgence of infections. Even at the peak of the COVID-19 crisis in February, millions of citizens were quarantined before the epidemic was brought under control. The Wuhan lockdown lasted for about one month, from January 23 to April 8.

In particular, global attention is focused on Wuhan as the United States has pointed to China as the origin of the COVID-19 virus. U.S. President Donald Trump and the U.S. government claim that the virus originated from experiments conducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. In response, China denies any connection. The institute's director also refuted the U.S. hypothesis, stating that no researchers have been infected.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.