China Sees Rise In Asymptomatic Coronavirus Cases

The mainland has reported 39 new coronavirus cases, up from 30 a day earlier, and the number of asymptomatic cases also surged, as Beijing continued to struggle to extinguish the outbreak despite drastic containment efforts.

The National Health Commission said in a statement on Monday that 78 new asymptomatic cases had been identified as of the end of the day on Sunday, compared with 47 the day before.

Imported cases and asymptomatic patients, who show no symptoms but can still pass the virus to others, have become China's chief concern in recent weeks after draconian containment measures succeeded in slashing the overall infection rate.

Hubei province, the original epicentre of the outbreak, accounted for almost half of the new asymptomatic cases, the provincial health authority said. A total of 705 people with asymptomatic cases were under medical observation around mainland China.

The surge in asymptomatic cases, which the mainland only began reporting last week, poses a worry as the Hubei provincial capital of Wuhan prepares to allow people to leave the city on April 8 for the first time since it was locked down in late January.

Hubei began easing travel curbs late last month, part of China's wider effort to get the economy back on track even as it tries to prevent a second wave of infections.

Wuhan officials revoked the "epidemic-free" status of 45 residential compounds due to the emergence of asymptomatic cases and for other unspecified reasons, according to a report on Monday by Xinhua News Agency.

"Epidemic-free" status allows people living in a compound in Wuhan to leave their homes for two hours at a time.

Of the new cases showing symptoms, 38 were people who had entered China from abroad, compared with 25 a day earlier.

Of those, 20 had arrived in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang from neighbouring Russia, the provincial government said. All were Chinese citizens who had flown from Moscow to Vladivostok, including 12 who were on the same April 2 flight, and travelled to China by road.

The mainland has reported a total of 81,708 cases, with 3,331 deaths. (Reuters)