Wuhan, the original epicentre of the new coronavirus outbreak in China, reported 17 new cases on Monday – its first cluster of infections since a lockdown on the central Chinese city was lifted a month ago, stoking concerns of a wider resurgence of the disease. This was the highest daily increase in new cases since April 28.
Mi Feng, spokesperson for the National Health Commission, warned people to “remain alert and step up personal protection against the virus.” This is the second double-digit increase in 10 days.
Mi also asked people to “seek medical advice or testing in designated hospitals if they exhibit symptoms such as fever, cough or fatigue”.
Of the 17 new cases, seven were listed as imported, while five were in the city of Wuhan, where a strict lockdown was lifted last month.
The five new confirmed cases in Whuahn live in the same residential compound. One of them was the wife of an 89-year-old male patient reported a day earlier in the first confirmed case in the city since April 3.
All of the latest confirmed cases were previously classified as asymptomatic – people who test positive for the virus and are capable of infecting others but do not show clinical signs such as a fever.
Hundreds of asymptomatic cases in Wuhan, which was released on April 8 from a months-long lockdown, are currently being monitored, according to the city’s health authority.
The number of new cases reported in China since April have been small compared with the thousands confirmed each day in February, thanks to a nationwide regime of screening, testing and quarantine.
The National Health Commission, meanwhile, said that there had been no new Covid-19 death in China on Sunday. It has been a month since China reported any Covid-19-linked death.
The country has reported 4,633 deaths from the virus among 82,918 total cases.