Wuhan Plans To Test 11m Population After Discovering New COVID-19 Cases

Wuhan plans to perform coronavirus tests on the entire population of the Chinese city after fresh cases in the cradle of the global pandemic have emerged for the first time in weeks, state media announced on Tuesday.

Officials were directed to request proposals to conduct nucleic acid tests on all residents in the town of 11 million people by noon on Tuesday, according to an official notice from news outlets.

“Each district will make plans and arrangements for performing nucleic acid tests on the entire population within a 10-day time limit in its jurisdiction,” the notice said, but it was unclear when the testing would begin.

The planned research comes after Wuhan identified the first cluster of new COVID-19 infections since the town reopened on April 8 after a 76-day lockdown.

Six new cases from a residential compound in Dongxihu District were reported on Sunday and Monday.

But an official from the Dongxihu District Commanding Office for Disease Prevention and Control told AFP that they had “not received news about this notification yet.”

China has largely brought the virus under control, but as it has lifted lockdowns and restrictions across the world, it has been on the verge of being struck by a second wave.

In recent weeks, virus clusters have emerged in the northeastern provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang, which are bordering Russia.

China has banned most of the foreigners from entering the country with the virus taking root in other nations.

Since the novel coronavirus first appeared there in December, Wuhan has recorded 3,869 deaths, accounting for most deaths in China. Scientists believe that the virus sprang from animals to humans at a market in the city that sold wildlife.