China introduces new measures to curb COVID-19 spread from asymptomatic cases

China on April 8, took new measures in a bid to prevent the spread of a second wave of the COVID-19 infections. The coronavirus pandemic which emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan, has now infected 81,865 and killed 3,335 across China, international media reported citing the country's national health commission. China is currently facing a constant rise in imported cases of coronavirus.

However, apart from infections coming from abroad, authorities are also struggling to manage asymptomatic cases of the virus. According to health officials, these 'silent cases' are those people who report no symptoms of COVID-19 infection such as fever or cold. Explaining further about them in a media interview, a professor of respiratory medicine at the People’s Liberation Army General Hospital said that these people pose little risk, however, he warned that people should still continue to follow instructions like social distancing, washing hands amid others. 

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The new regulations

Under the new regulations, it is mandatory for all medical institutes to report the detection of an asymptomatic case within two hours from their discovery and local government is ordered to identify all those who came in contact with them. Much like other suspected cases, the asymptomatic patients are required to be quarantined for 14 days and would be counted as confirmed cases if they start to show symptoms. Along with them, everybody who has come in contact with them should also be placed in quarantine. Meanwhile, the social media platform, WeChat updated its app with a new feature that allows people to check if they had ever sat with an asymptomatic patient during a flight. 

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This comes as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on April 8 that it is not the time for retribution against China as the officials believe Beijing delayed in sharing accurate information on the novel coronavirus. During a White House press briefing on coronavirus, the top diplomat opined that China should have shared their data sooner saying every country has the obligation to share that information timely and accurately.

(Image Credits: AP)

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