'10 days of battle': Wuhan draws up ambitious Covid-19 testing plan

Chinese authorities are preparing to test 11 million people in Wuhan after a small outbreak this week. The city in Hubei province, where the virus is believed to have originated with the first recorded cases, had reported few daily cases since early March and none since early April, until a cluster of six was confirmed at the weekend. Mainland China has reported more than 84,000 cases and more than 4,600 deaths during the pandemic.

Fearful of another outbreak and a return to the draconian lockdowns, the authorities are drawing up plans for “10 days of battle”, directing each district of Wuhan to develop and submit plans to test all their citizens. There are few details for the ambitious undertaking, but Chinese media has suggested the “10-day” directive is a time limit for each region, on staggered start times. “Each district shall make arrangements for nucleic acid screening for all members within 10 days,” said a Wuhan government notice.

On Tuesday, Yicai news said Wuchang district was to be screened between 13 and 20 May, with the intention of finishing by 17 May to allow three days “to find out and fill in the gaps”.

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