BEIJING, May 11 (Reuters) – Wuhan reported its first cluster of coronavirus infections since the lifting a month ago of the city’s lockdown.
The five new confirmed cases, all from the same residential compound, come amid efforts to ease restrictions across China.
“We must resolutely contain the risk of a rebound,” the health authority in Wuhan, a city with a population of about 11 million, said in a statement on Monday.
New confirmed cases reported in China since April have been low compared with the thousands every day in February, thanks to a nationwide regime of screening, testing and quarantine.
Beijing said on Friday that cinemas, museums and other venues would gradually be reopened, though restrictions would include mandatory reservations and a limit on numbers of visitors.
Some Shanghai night spots are open again, and the Shanghai Disneyland park admitted a reduced number of visitors.
All of the latest cases in Wuhan were previously classified as asymptomatic: People who test positive for the virus and are capable of infecting others but do not show clinical signs.
Hundreds of asymptomatic cases in Wuhan, which was released on April 8 from a months-long lockdown, are being monitored.
China does not include asymptomatic cases in its overall tally of confirmed cases until they exhibit signs of infection. Mainland China has reported 82,918 confirmed cases and 4,633 deaths.
On average, Wuhan has conducted about 47,000 nucleic acid tests each day since the lockdown was lifted.
