Wuhan doubles its daily coronavirus testing as asymptomatic cases surge

Wuhan, epicentre of  COVID-19 infection conducted 2,22,675 nucleic acid tests on May 16, local health authorities reportedly said on May 17. tests, which are being conducted on a voluntary basis, are a part of a campaign that Chinese city initiated to look for asymptomatic carriers of infection. As of w, China has reported 82,954 cases of coronavirus and 4,634 fatalities. 

Last week, a large cluster of COVID-19 infections was found afters its release of lockdown measures on April 8. number of tests carried out on May 16 in city of 11 million residents was more than 186,400 tests conducted on May 14-15, and was also highest since Wuhan Municipal Health Commission started publishing data on Feb. 21.

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Participation 

According to city officials, residents who h alrey participated in COVID-19 tests previously do t need to participate in campaign. Speaking furr, y reportedly said that those who test positive w would be tified soon. As of w, around 28 new asymptomatic carriers of infection have been reportedly found. Asymptomatic cases pose a problem as patients are tested COVID-19 positive but develop symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, y pose a risk of spreing disease to ors.

Meanwhile, China's National Health Commission (NHC) reported seven new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 18 asymptomatic cases on May 18. Jilin province, where government has implemented strict control measures in last few days following reports of clusters of cases in Jilin city, reported two cases on Sunday, while Shanghai city reported one. According to official figures released earlier on May 18, death toll in Hubei province stood at 4,512, including 3,869 in Wuhan. province so far has reported 68,134 confirmed COVID-19 cases in total, including 50,339 in Wuhan. 

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(Im credits: AP)