China reports 23 fresh COVID-19 cases including 1 in Wuhan
Beijing, May 19 () China has reported 23 new coronavirus cases, including one in Wuhan, the contagion's first epicentre which is now undergoing aggressive testing of its 11.2 million population over fears of a rebound, health officials said on Tuesday.
The National Health Commission (NHC) reported six fresh coronavirus cases and 17 asymptomatic infections in the country on Monday.
The six cases include one in Wuhan and two in Jilin province, both locally transmitted.
Hubei province's capital Wuhan, where the virus emerged in December last year, has a total of seven cases, the local health commission said.
The city also has over 285 asymptomatic cases which prompted the local officials to go for mass testing of local population after the 76-day lockdown was lifted last month. The testing is currently underway.
All the 17 new asymptomatic cases are domestic ones. A total of 389 asymptomatic cases, including 29 from overseas, were still under medical observation, the NHC said.
Asymptomatic cases pose a problem as the patients are tested COVID-19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, they pose a risk of spreading the disease to others.
The death toll from the coronavirus in the country stands at 4,634.
As of Monday, the overall confirmed cases in China were 82,960, including 85 who are being treated, while 78,241 people have been discharged after recovery. KJV CPS