Almost a month after restrictions were eased, Wuhan reported its first cluster of COVID-19 infection on Monday. Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the novel coronavirus originated, reported thousands of COVID-19 cases daily at the peak of disease outbreak. This prompted the authorities to impose one of the harshest lockdowns ever witnessed in modern times. However, several of the restrictions imposed on January 23 were relaxed last month, on April 8.
On Monday, Wuhan reported a new coronavirus cluster, the first since April 8. The city reported five new COVID-19 cases, all from the same residential compound, Reuters reported. One of those patients is an 89-year old woman, wife of the first patient since April 3 who was confirmed infected on Sunday.
All these cases were earlier termed asymptomatic, i.e. those patients who can infect others but they themselves don't exhibit any symptoms linked to the deadly disease. Such cases are difficult to detect and are generally discovered during contact tracing or health checks. China doesn't include such cases in its final tally of confirmed COVID cases.
Lock-down restrictions in China
In order to curb the spread of novel coronavirus, China imposed widespread lock-downs in several of its cities. After successfully curbing the flare-up in the number of cases, it started easing several of the restrictions, from early April onward, such as allowing businesses to re-open, classes to resume and easing several social distancing norms.
On Friday, the government announced that it will gradually reopen cinemas, museums and other recreational venues, with mandatory reservations and a limit on the number of people allowed. Shanghai has already re-opened several entertainment venues, including the Disneyland park.
Since the disease outbreak was first reported in China on December 31, the country has reported 82,918 COVID-19 cases along with 4,633 fatalities. With 67,803 cases, over 80 percent of China's cases have been reported in its Hubei province. Its capital Wuhan witnessed 50,333 cases and 3,869 fatalities.
