Indians in Wuhan fear second wave of COVID-19 with rise in asymptomatic cases

While China’s Wuhan has not reported new coronavirus cases or deaths in the past few days, Indian students and professionals who chose to stay put in the city during the outbreak fear a second wave due to rise in asymptomatic cases. After the virus spiralled out in Wuhan, the first epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak, Indian government evacuated over 600 nationals from the city, but few citizens stayed back for personal and professional reasons.

The students survived through the major health crisis and are now free to move around after Wuhan lifted its strict 76-day lockdown. However, China reported 40 new asymptomatic cases on April 28 including three imported cases while 997 asymptomatic cases, including 130 imported cases, were still under medical observation.

Speaking to PTI, an Indian researcher said that people are venturing out only for work or to buy essentials due to fear of asymptomatic cases. Another Indian said that the asymptomatic cases have led to unease and apprehension among people as they don't know about the people they meet both at work and in the city.

Read: COVID-19 Cases In Wuhan Hospitals Drop To Zero For 1st Time: Official

Focussed testing

A top Chinese health expert reportedly said on April 27 that the government will focus on testing people from high-risk group and areas. Jin Qi, president of the Institute of Pathogen Biology at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said at a news briefing that people with symptoms or from infected areas are being given the priority for COVID-19 testing.

Read: China's Wuhan No Longer Has COVID-19 Patients In Hospital Though Risk Of Infection Remains

China has been able to flatten the curve by containing the highly infectious disease through isolation and contact tracing, but the virus has spiralled out in the United States. It has reported over a million cases, one-third of the worldwide cases, and nearly 57,000 deaths due to the infectious disease. According to the latest report, over three million coronavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide with over 212,000 deaths, overwhelming the health care facilities across the globe.

Read: China To Keep COVID-19 Tests Focused On Certain Groups, No Widespread Testing

Read: COVID-19: Chinese Award-winning Author Faces Backlash Over 'Wuhan Diary'

(With PTI inputs | Image: AP)