SURPRISE: An official Chinese newspaper just deleted an article saying there are up to 20,000 asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 in Wuhan

As Wuhan celebrates the lifting of the city’s two-month lockdown, new concerns (SURPRISE!) have arisen for some strange reason:

WUHAN, China, April 8 (Reuters) – The Chinese city where the coronavirus epidemic first broke out, Wuhan, ended a two-month lockdown on Wednesday, but a northern town started restricting the movement of its residents amid concerns of a second wave of infections in mainland China.

— Vincent Lee (@Rover829) April 8, 2020

You see, an official Chinese newspaper dared to estimate that there are currently between 10,000-20,000 people in Wuhan who are infected with COVID-19 but asymptomatic. This article was quickly ratholed, however:

“[Wuhan] has tightened restrictions on some housing complexes..after confirming dozens of new asymptomatic cases. An official newspaper said Monday there could be 10,000 to 20,000 such cases in Wuhan. The report was swiftly deleted online.” @WSJ https://t.co/51S3luLBWV

— Eunice Yoon (@onlyyoontv) April 8, 2020

And you know all those reports of faulty tests? Maybe that’s a problem in China, too. Here’s a report that a doctor, who had been volunteering in Wuhan and had tested negative, suddenly died of cardiac arrest after he traveled home. There’s anecdotal evidence that COVID-19 damages a person’s heart as well as the lungs:

Worrisome:
1. Cases of asymptomatic people infecting others found. #Wuhan is tightening control again.
2. A doctor who has been to #Wuhan to support, suddenly suffering from cardiac arrest on Apr. 5 after being tested negative 3 times.#CCPVirus
Source: https://t.co/ujoUBDeEut pic.twitter.com/ecPgBE0Ygg

— Jennifer Zeng 曾錚 (@jenniferatntd) April 6, 2020

10,000-20,000 infected and showing no signs of symptoms and the people who had the most contact with the infected are all headed home. What could go wrong?

Doctors and nurses who came to help Wuhan at the height of the #coronavirus crisis there are the first to take flights out as the city's lockdown is formally lifted. https://t.co/uWo1OBcvQK pic.twitter.com/OoWt6GWIBW

— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) April 8, 2020

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Oh, and the city of Suifenhe, population 100,000 or so, on the border with Russia has just been locked down after a surge of cases from, reportedly, Chinese citizens returning home:

New #China town in lockdown amid fears of #coronavirus surge. Suifenhe on #Russia border orders all housing/offices shut or strictly guarded. 1 person per family allowed out every 3 days with pass, state media say. Health code, temp check, mask required. ?https://t.co/hBddmmCdA6

— Eunice Yoon (@onlyyoontv) April 8, 2020

5% of those returning, if the tests can even be trusted, were asymptomatic carriers. Gulp:

2,443 people entered #China from #Russia via the #Suifenhe port from March 21 to April 7, of whom 84 were confirmed #COVID19 infections and 127 were silent virus carriers: CCTV https://t.co/qr9fQaunfD pic.twitter.com/6UP3RNSBQo

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) April 8, 2020

Summary of the restrictions in place:

Reuters: Suifenhe City in Heilongjiang restricted people's movements on Wednesday in a similar fashion to that of Wuhan.

Residents must stay in their residential compounds and 1 person in a family can leave once every 3 days to buy necessities and must return on the same day.

— Vincent Lee (@Rover829) April 8, 2020

According to reports, hospitals in the city are already at capacity:

Reuters: "Suifenhe is a small city without any high-level hospitals, how can it handle the huge influx of patients?”

— Vincent Lee (@Rover829) April 8, 2020

And field hospitals are being constructed:

Capacity of quarantine sites, hospitals in Chinese border port to Russia are near saturation, and the city of #Suifenhe has started to build makeshift hospital. #COVID19 https://t.co/3xWZQ106p2 pic.twitter.com/rF5pugwByA

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) April 7, 2020

So, they want them to stay in Russia? What does Russia think about that?

Breaking – the Chinese consulate in Russia strongly recommends Chinese citizens not to return to the country through the border crossing at Suifenhe City. Starting April 7, all Chinese citizens arriving at the border through domestic flights in Russia will need to undergo a … https://t.co/NJ2xvZb9me pic.twitter.com/kmJ9Wu5zuE

— William Yang (@WilliamYang120) April 7, 2020

Eventually, China will have to admit the truth and when they do, it’s going to be brutal.

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