The government of China, is set to test the entire population of the residents in Wuhan, where the deadly coronavirus allegedly came from, for Covid-19, after new cases emerged for the first time in weeks, State Media have reported Tuesday.
Officials have been ordered to submit by noon on Tuesday, plans to administer nucleic acid tests on all residents in the city of 11 million people, according to an official notice carried by news outlets.
The notice read: “Each District should make plans and arrangements to conduct nucleic acid tests on the entire population in its jurisdiction within a 10-day time limit.”
The plan came after Wuhan reported its first case of Covid-19, since the city re-opened, after a 76-day lockdown on April 8.
6 new cases were reported on Sunday and Monday, from a residential compound in Dongxihu District.
However, an Official from the Dongxihu District Epidemic Prevention and Control Commanding office, told AFP, that they have “not yet received news about this notice”.
Wu Zunyou, Chief Epidemiologist at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, told State Broadcaster, CCTV, however, that it is “not necessary” for every person in Wuhan to be tested.
“Neighbourhoods without any case do not need to screen every person”, Wu said, while large-scale screening should focus on “key jobs” and other criteria.
China has largely brought the virus under control, but it has been on edge about being hit by a second wave, as it has lifted lockdown and restrictions across the country.
Virus clusters have appeared in recent weeks in the North-Eastern Provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang, which border Russia.
With the virus taking hold in other nations, China has barred most foreigners from entering the country.
Wuhan has reported 3,869 deaths, since the novel coronavirus first emerged there in December, 2019, accounting for most fatalities in China. Scientists believe the virus jumped from animals to humans, at a market that sold wildlife in the city.
