China: Wuhan tests nearly 10M citizens in 10 days

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) – Nearly 10 million residents of Wuhan city in central China were tested for coronavirus over 10 days.

“Wuhan has tested 9.89 million people during its ten-day citywide nucleic test campaign, found 300 asymptomatic carriers, and no confirmed cases,” a municipality official said, according to daily Global Times.

The deadly coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, last December. Over 11 million people live in the city, known for its high-tech industry.

Mass testing began after a cluster of six new cases was reported on May 9.

“Wuhan spent approximately 900 million yuan [$126.58 million] on its city-wide nucleic test campaign, and the expense will be shouldered by the Wuhan government,” said Hu Yabo, executive deputy mayor of Wuhan.

Since the start of the outbreak, Wuhan reported over 50,000 cases of the deadly infection.

China has reported 83,022 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 4,634 deaths, most of which were recorded in Hubei province.

China’s National Health Commission on Tuesday confirmed five new infections, all imported.