Wuhan reports first clusters of coronavirus cases since end of lockdown

The new cases of Covid-19 are the first to be reported in Wuhan since April 3
Wuhan has reported its first new coronavirus case since April 3
Reuters

Wuhan has reported six new coronavirus cases after more than a month of no infections.

The first new case reported on Sunday in the epicentre of China's outbreak was the first infection since April 3 and it was followed by five more cases on Monday.

The Hubei provincial health commission said on Sunday that an 89-year-old man who was previously asymptomatic tested positive for Covid-19.

The man had not left his residential compound in the Dongxihu district since the Lunar New Year in late January, Reuters reports.

His wife, who also tested positive though she showed no symptoms, was one of the five additional cases to be reported on Monday.

Experts say the new infection was mainly due to previous community infections and on Sunday the risk level of the Dongxihu district was raised to medium from low.

All of the latest cases were previously classified as having tested positive for Covid-19 without showing symptoms of the disease and China does not include such asymptomatic cases in its official tally of confirmed infections.

Wuhan lifts Coronavirus lockdown - In pictures

1/15

China reported its first double-digit rise in new cases in 10 days on Sunday, saying 14 had been detected, 12 of them domestic infections and two from abroad.

Eleven of the domestic cases were in the north-eastern province of Jilin. Jilin shares a border with North Korea, where the virus situation is unclear.

No new virus deaths have been reported in China for almost a month and the number of people in treatment for Covid-19 nationwide fell to 148, with another 798 under isolation.

China has reported a total of 4,633 total death 82,901 cases.

Visitors wearing facemasks streamed into Shanghai Disneyland this morning
AP

The jump in new cases could fuel concerns over how quickly to lift strict social distancing measures and reopen schools and other public institutions.

It comes as China's most prominent theme park, Shanghai Disneyland, reopened today.

The park, which closed on January 25, will limit visitor numbers and is keeping some attractions closed in line with social distancing guidelines, company executives said.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in