Monitoring stepped up in Wuhan as city reopens

Authorities in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, plan to gear up monitoring for recovered novel coronavirus pneumonia patients as part of a broader effort to prevent a resurgence of the epidemic after the metropolis was expected to be unlocked on Wednesday.

News reports have emerged over the past month that a small number of patients released from hospitals tested positive again, raising fears they could trigger widespread cluster infections.

Tao Cunxin, who heads the screening squad of the city's Epidemic Control Office, said Tuesday that they will ramp up nucleic acid testing for released patients and hospitalize those testing positive as fast as they possibly can.

He said the screening for the "four types" - confirmed cases, suspicious cases, patients with pneumonia-like symptoms and their close contacts - shall not be relaxed, as a large number of residents are expected to step out of home isolation and leave the city on Wednesday after 76 days of quarantined life.

Wuhan was put on lockdown on Jan 23, suspending travel in and out of the city and crippling its public transportation in an attempt to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus.

With the removal of lockdown rules, Tao said they would step up regular checks for the "new four types" who pose challenges for community epidemic control - hospital workers, recent returnees, people working outdoors or in a crowded environment, and those who had finished the quarantine period outside Wuhan.

They will be put on record and subjected to daily temperature checks, he said.

The moves came as infections have slowed significantly in the city, prompting local authorities to lift travel bans imposed for over two months.

But local officials warned that the risk of rebound of the epidemic was possible if not controlled properly.

Hu Shuguang, head of the city's epidemic control office, said community workers can remove the physical barriers installed at the height of the outbreak to facilitate people resuming work, but screening at the entrance must remain.

Identities and temperatures must be checked for all, and wearing face masks is a must, he said, adding that people are still discouraged from being out of their homes for nonessential purposes.