Coronavirus: warnings of second wave of infections as China fights ‘long-term war’

Authorities are battling to contain cluster in the northeast, imposing strict lockdowns on residents of Shulan and Jilin city

Experts say many people have ‘no background immunity’ and country is still facing big challenge

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A medical worker takes a swab in Shulan, Jilin province. The city has been locked down to contain a cluster outbreak. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 10:30pm, 18 May 2020Updated: 5:10am, 19 May 2020

China is battling to contain a coronavirus cluster in the country’s northeast with strict lockdowns amid warnings of a potential second wave of cases as the country fights a “long-term war”.

Two new cases of local transmission were confirmed in Jilin province on Sunday, bringing the total number in the cluster to at least 34 – all of them linked to a woman who tested positive in the city of Shulan on May 7. Before that, the province had not reported any local cases for 73 days. Neighbouring Liaoning has also reported three cases connected to the outbreak.

In Shanghai, a case of local transmission was also confirmed on Sunday – the first there since March 23. The patient, from Hubei province, had travelled to Shanghai on Thursday and tested positive before symptoms developed.

The numbers are low compared to the outbreak in Wuhan, where the first cases were reported in December before the deadly virus rapidly spread across the country and the world. More than 83,000 people have been infected in China, with over 4,600 killed.

But the new cases have set alarm bells ringing as the country tries to reopen, having been clear of local transmission for weeks after months of strict measures to curb the contagion.

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David Hui, chairman of the medicine and therapeutics department at Chinese University of Hong Kong, said there was a risk of a second wave on the mainland.