New coronavirus infections in China stoke fears of wider resurgence

Cases add layer of caution to efforts to ease curbs as people go back to work, businesses reopen

A woman in Wuhan with her own personal protection gear yesterday. The city, which was the epicentre of China's coronavirus outbreak, had emerged from a lockdown only about a month ago. It reported six new cases over the weekend, pushing China's overa
A woman wears her own personal protection gear in Wuhan on May 11, 2020. PHOTO: AFP

BEIJING • An official has been sacked in China's central city of Wuhan, after it reported six new coronavirus cases over the weekend, the authorities said yesterday.

Mr Zhang Yuxin was removed from his posts for his poor management over the closing-off and control of the Sanmin residential community. He was a secretary of the Changqing Street working committee of the Communist Party of China, which oversees the community. All of Wuhan's six new cases reported over the weekend are from the Sanmin residential community and are mostly older people.

The city, which was the epicentre of China's coronavirus outbreak, emerged from a stringent lockdown only about a month ago.

The new infections stoked concerns of a wider resurgence of the fast-spreading disease, adding a layer of caution to China's efforts to further ease restrictions across the country as businesses restart and people return to work.

"At present, the task of epidemic prevention and control in the city is still very heavy," the Wuhan health authority said in a statement. "We must resolutely contain the risk of a rebound."

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 are being monitored, the city's health authority said.

China does not include asymptomatic cases in its overall tally of confirmed cases until they exhibit signs of infection.

Since last month, China's number of new cases has been small compared with the thousands confirmed each day in February, thanks to a nationwide regime of screening, testing and quarantine.

The government last Friday said cinemas, museums and other recreational venues would reopen gradually, though curbs including a limit on numbers would be in place.

New outbreaks in the past two months have mainly been in residential compounds or at hospitals.

The Wuhan cases pushed China's overall number of new infections on Sunday to 17, the country's highest daily increase since April 28.

Of the new cases nationwide, seven were so-called imported cases in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, involving travellers from overseas, compared with two reported a day earlier.

The north-eastern Jilin province, which on Saturday reported a cluster of infections in the city of Shulan, reported three more local cases on Sunday.

"We're now in a 'war-time' mode," said Mr Jin Hua, mayor of Shulan, which until the weekend had reported no local cases for more than 70 days.

Shulan has imposed a lockdown on its 600,000 residents since the weekend, with just one member per household allowed out each day to buy necessities. It has also been marked a high-risk area, the only place in China now with that designation. Nearby Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces each reported one case.

The reports of the new cases come as nations across the globe begin the tricky task of navigating out of their respective lockdowns. Health experts warn that too hasty a return to normal may spark a second wave of infections, and point out that restrictions will have to remain until there is a vaccine.

REUTERS, XINHUA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 12, 2020, with the headline New coronavirus infections in China stoke fears of wider resurgence. Subscribe