Wuhan to test entire population of 11m as uptick in cases prompts alarm at possible second wave

The Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of China’s coronavirus outbreak, plans to conduct city-wide nucleic acid testing over a period of 10 days, according to an internal document seen by Reuters and two sources familiar with the situation.

Every district in the city has been told to submit a detailed testing plan by Tuesday for their respective area, the document showed.

The Wuhan health authority



could not be immediately reached for comment outside of business hours.

The city of 11 million people reported its first cluster of new infections over the weekend, after a months-long lockdown was lifted on April 8.

These plans come as global alarm was sounded on Monday over a potential second wave of coronavirus infections after Germany reported that the reproduction rate of the pathogen had risen above 1.