Beijing/Wuhan: China’s asymptomatic coronavirus cases have increased to 981, including 631 in Hubei province and its capital Wuhan, the epicentre of the deadly virus outbreak, while the government has stepped up vigil to contain the spread of the infection during the 5-day May Day holidays.
While the confirmed cases were steadily on the decline in China, including in Wuhan, prompting the government to resume normal operations all over the country, the steady rise in asymptomatic cases continued to be a cause of concern.
Asymptomatic cases refer to people who tested positive for the coronavirus but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. They are infectious and pose a risk of spreading to others.
China’s National Health Commission (NHC) on Friday said 25 new asymptomatic cases were reported in the country, taking the total tally to 981, including 115 from abroad, who were still under medical observation.
The health commission of Hubei province said no new confirmed cases of the COVID-19 were reported for 27 consecutive days.
But the province and its capital Wuhan reported 631 people with asymptomatic infections who are under medical observation.
A total of 282,482 close contacts of COVID-19 patients in the province had been tracked by Thursday, 1,434 of whom were still under medical observation, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Hubei has so far reported 68,128 confirmed COVID-19 cases in total, including 50,333 in Wuhan.
