Beijing, Jul 28 (IANS): 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, the media reported on Thursday.

According to a BBC report, 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, the report said.

Soon after, the city's authorities imposed the lockdown.

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.

Earlier this week, scientists said there was "compelling evidence" that Wuhan's Huanan seafood and wildlife market was at the centre of the Covid outbreak, says the BBC report.

Two peer-reviewed studies have re-examined information from the initial outbreak in the city.

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

In June, Shanghai emerged from a strict two-month lockdown, but residents are still adapting to a "new normal" of frequent mass testing, the BBC report adds.

As of Thursday morning, China has reported a total of 2,167,619 confirmed Covid cases and 14,647 deaths.