China's Wuhan has Tested Third of Residents for Coronavirus

• 05.15.2020, 13:18
•  Asia,  World

AFP/STR

Wuhan, the Chinese city where the coronavirus first appeared late last year, says it has tested more than three million residents for the pathogen since April, as it steps up efforts to test the remainder of its 11 million population, al-Jazeera reports.

Wuhan will conduct tests on everyone in the city, with the goal of getting a clear number of asymptomatic cases as businesses and schools reopen, the official Xinhua News Agency reported late on Thursday.

The priority will be residents who have not been tested before, people living in residential compounds that had previous cases of the virus, as well as older estates or compounds in densely populated estates, Xinhua said, citing a Wuhan government meeting.

Wuhan reported a cluster of infections over the weekend, the first since an almost total lockdown of the city was lifted on April 8, raising fears of a second wave. The latest cases were previously recorded as asymptomatic, people who had the virus but showed no symptoms.