Wuhan ends mammoth test, isolates silent spreaders

BEIJING: The Chinese city of Wuhan has tested more than 9.89 million residents for the coronavirus since last month, completing the biggest mass testing for the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pathogen in less than three weeks.

While not a single confirmed case was detected in the nucleic acid tests (NAT) conducted in

Wuhan, 300 residents turned out to be asymptomatic, local health officials said on Tuesday.

China doesn’t count asymptomatic cases as confirmed ones.

Overall, 9,899,828 nucleic acid tests were carried out between May 14 and June 1, a mass testing campaign that was ordered after a cluster of infections emerged in a residential complex, a month after the city was gradually eased out of an 11-week lockdown.

More than 1,100 close contacts of the asymptomatic residents were tracked and isolated, officials said.

The coronavirus first emerged late last year in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, before spreading across China and then, rapidly, worldwide.

The city of Wuhan and the province of Hubei bore the brunt of the outbreak in the country, accounting for more than 60,000 cases and the majority of deaths.

The unusual decision to mass test and its implementation were closely followed by governments and health authorities globally as the world continues to grapple with the pandemic, and, especially, how to track down silent spreaders.

The campaign will be difficult to replicate because of the massive mobilisation of resources required, including deploying medics and setting up temporary testing centres.

The tests were held in less than three weeks.