430 silent carriers in Wuhan after lockdown removal, none turns into confirmed case

Global Times

By Guo Yuandan Source:Globaltimes.cn Published: 2020/4/28 0:50:43

Officials with the Wuhan Health Commission said that since the lockdown restrictions were lifted on April 8, the city has reported 430 cases of asymptomatic infections, while none of them have turned into confirmed infections.

Facing the challenges of asymptomatic infections, a health official told the Global Times the city is conducting comprehensive epidemiological investigations, a combination of field prevention measures and big data tracing made possible by public security authorities.

The source and close contacts of asymptomatic infections are vital when containing the spread, especially during the ongoing prevention measures of "population screenings - finding the source of infection - trace investigation - confirming close contacts - isolation and test."

According to the official, the serum epidemiology investigation covers more than 11,000 people in 100 communities in Wuhan, and the nucleic testing guidelines for key population sectors has been introduced as well. The city also welcomes citizens who are willing to be tested.

"We are trying to be active and cut the possible transmission from the source and transmission methods," said the official.

Wuhan Health authorities reported no new domestic-transmitted cases and zero fatalities, as well as 16 new cases of asymptomatic infections on Sunday. In total, 52,867 Wuhan residents received nucleic acid tests on Sunday.

Besides expanding testing capabilities, the official noted that Wuhan will apply strict management regulations on community prevention efforts, such as temperature monitoring, information registering, face mask requirements, and personal identification checks.

The official promised the city would conduct immediate isolation and control toward asymptomatic infections and their close contacts. Experts will be assigned to each asymptomatic infection for close observation, and patients would be sent to designated hospitals if they show any virus symptoms.

The official told the Global Times that any new cases would be sent to Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital for treatment.

Asymptomatic patients are defined as those who display no clinical symptoms but test positive for COVID-19. Asymptomatic patients will be quarantined for 14 days and undergo two nucleic acid tests. If the nucleic acid tests are positive, isolated medical observation will continue.

Asymptomatic patients will be counted as confirmed cases once they begin to show symptoms such as fever, coughing, and sore throat. Those who have been in close contact with the patients will be quarantined for 14 days.