Covid tests for 12m after delta variant surfaces in Wuhan

CORONAVIRUS has returned to Wuhan, the city where infections first emerged in late 2019, as three cases of the highly transmissible delta variant were confirmed yesterday by Chinese authorities.

Officials are to test the city’s 12million residents in efforts to contain the virus once again.

After a botched response at the start of the pandemic, local authorities appear to be taking no chances, setting up 18 quarantine centres that are already nearly full with more than 2,000 people in isolation.

City residents – remembering the strict lockdown last year when people were sealed into their homes for 76 days – rushed to shops to stock up in case quarantine measures are enforced again. Online, people lamented the outbreak: “Give Wuhan a break.”

New cases in Wuhan were spotted on Sunday when seven Chinese migrant workers tested positive. By Monday, the city’s education bureau had ordered a halt to all in-person classes.

Authorities said the delta variant cases were linked to a cluster in nearby Jiangsu province, where infections have been mushrooming around the provincial capital of Nanjing since late July. It is believed the variant may have been introduced via a flight from Russia.

Since then, a number of cities, including the capital Beijing, have found new infections, pushing the tally of local transmissions in China to more than 400 cases. Nanjing and other cities have also begun suspending domestic transport links, including taxis and flights.

China has also stopped issuing and renewing passports, severely restricting the movements of its citizens, in what it says is a necessary “reform” to defend against the virus. Passport applications have been pushed back this year, and no decision has been made on when the ban will be relaxed, according to a government notice online. Only those deemed by the government to have an “urgent” need to travel can have passport applications processed.

Some questioned whether the decision stemmed from public health concerns. “The gate is closing,” wrote one person online. “Whether or not the door can be reopened has little to do with Covid-19.”