Beijing

Nearly a million people in Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province where the Covid-19 pandemic was first recorded have been placed under a lockdown after four asymptomatic cases were detected on Thursday.

The lockdown has been imposed in the city's Jiangxia district and the residents have been asked to stay inside their homes or compounds for three days.

Of the four cases, two were reported 48 hours ago as a result of regular testing, which was quickly followed by the third and fourth via contact tracing.

Wuhan, a city of 12 million people became popular across the world as the first place where scientists detected the Covid-19.

It was also the first city to be put under harsh restrictive measures as the global pandemic broke out in early 2020.

According to media reports earlier this week scientists said there was "compelling evidence" that Wuhan's Huanan seafood and wildlife market was at the epicentre of the Covid outbreak.

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Meanwhile, China has adopted a "zero Covid-19" strategy under which authorities conduct mass testing, declare strict isolation rules and impose local lockdowns.