Wuhan: The epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, reported 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.
The new infections sounded a note of caution amid efforts to ease coronavirus-related restrictions across China as businesses restart and individuals go back to work. Wuhan reported five new confirmed cases, all of whom 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 in more than a month.
“At present, the task of epidemic prevention and control in the city is still very heavy,” said the Wuhan health authority in a statement. 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.
The number of asymptomatic cases in China is not known, as they only appear on the radar of health officials when they show up positive during tests conducted as part of contact tracing and health checks.–Agencies
