Wuhan street on February 22 Photo: VCG

Vice secretary of Hubei Provincial Party Committee and commander of the Provincial Epidemic Prevention and Control Wang Zhonglin arrived in Wuhan on Sunday, urging local officials to win the battle quickly with more resolute and effective measures in the shortest time and at the lowest cost after the province reported 33 asymptomatic cases, four of which participated in the construction of a makeshift hospital in Shanghai.

"The only way to prevent and control the epidemic is to control it fast," Wang stressed. 

Wang said that investigation, screening and control of epidemic cases should be the top priority, and all contacts and sub-contacts should be identified and brought under control as soon as possible to cut the chain of transmission. 

Measures should be strictly implemented to ensure that people from key areas returning to Hubei are investigated, inspected and detained on arrival. Illegal activities such as evading inspection should be dealt with in accordance with the law, and unannounced inspections should be strengthened to eliminate risks and hidden dangers.

Wuhan, the capital city of the province, also required passengers who take public transport such as bus and subway to hold a 48-hour valid nucleic acid test results, the Wuhan Metro Operation Company and Wuhan Public Transport Group announced on Monday as 12 of 33 silent carriers were reported in the city on Sunday. 

Meanwhile, the Global Times learned that Yichang, a city about 340 kilometers away from Wuhan, will conduct nucleic acid testing for its 3.8 million residents from Monday to Tuesday.

A local resident surnamed Chen who took the test on Sunday midnight told the Global Times on Monday that she received a certificate after receiving the test, which will allow her to enter public facilities such as shopping malls or take buses. 

Long queues are seen across the city as many like Chen actively responded to the government's request, given the severe outbreak in Shanghai.

Official media in Yichang said on Sunday that there were no new confirmed cases of coronavirus, but that the provincial prevention and control headquarters had ordered the early detection of the novel coronavirus cases and urged people not to panic.

From Sunday evening to early Monday, many community owners in Jingzhou, another city in Hubei, received an urgent notice to take nucleic acid tests starting from Monday.