China sees rise in asymptomatic coronavirus cases

Authorities in China are struggling to combat the coronavirus despite introducing strict measures, after the country reported a surge in asymptomatic cases.

According to the National Health Commission (NHC), 78 new asymptomatic cases had been identified on Sunday, up from 47 the day before.

It comes as Hubei's capital Wuhan is set to allow people to leave the city on April 8 for the first time since the lockdown.

The official Xinhua news agency explained that the "epidemic-free" status, that allows people to leave their homes for two hours at a time, in 45 residential compounds in Wuhan had been revoked due to this reason.

So far, China has reported a total of 81,708 cases, with 3,331 deaths.