The Chinese city of Wuhan, ground zero of the coronavirus pandemic, conducted 222,675 nucleic acid tests on Saturday, nearly doubling from the previous day, according to the local health authority.
Last week, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission announced a citywide campaign to test the entire population of 11 million residents for COVID-19 in an effort to search for asymptomatic carriers of the virus, after a cluster of new cases emerged for the first time since the city had lifted its strict lockdown on April 8.
The number of tests conducted daily has increased from 113,609 last Friday and from 72,791 last Thursday. No confirmed cases of COVID-19 with symptoms were found during this testing period; however, 28 new asymptomatic carriers were identified, according to daily reports published by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission.
Although recommended, participation in the testing campaign is voluntary. Residents who were previously tested do not need to take part. It is not recommended to test children under the age of 6, according to the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission’s website.
