No cases of virus death in China as Wuhan lifts travel restrictions
A worker at an expressway toll gate in Wuhan removes roadblocks as the city in central China’s Hubei Province began lifting outbound travel restrictions starting Wednesday.
China on Tuesday reported no new coronavirus deaths for the first time since it started publishing figures in January, just a day before it plans to lift travel curbs from Wuhan, the central city worst hit by the contagion.
The twin milestones illustrate the progress China has made in its all-consuming battle against the pandemic.
China had 32 new infections on Monday, down from 39 a day earlier, the National Health Commission said.
Hubei’s provincial capital of Wuhan saw no new deaths, joining the rest of the Chinese mainland, which has recorded none since March 31.
With China well past February’s peak of infections, authorities have turned their attention to imported cases and asymptomatic patients, who show no symptoms but can still pass on the virus.
Total infections in China’s mainland stood at 81,740 on Monday with 3,331 deaths, the commission said. It reported 30 new asymptomatic cases, nine involving incoming travelers. Of the new asymptomatic cases, 18 were in Hubei.
By the end of Monday, 1,033 asymptomatic patients were under medical observation.
Overseas arrivals made up all 32 of the new cases with symptoms, down from 38 a day earlier. Total imported infections stand at 983, the commission said.
The existing imported cases have outnumbered the existing domestic ones, adding to the pressure on the cities of entry in terms of medical treatment, virus control, nucleic acid test and quarantine facilities, NHC spokesperson Mi Feng said.
The northeast province of Heilongjiang reported 20 new cases, all among Chinese citizens returning from neighboring Russia. It had reported 20 new infections on Sunday, also cases imported from Russia.
The Chinese consulate in the Russian city of Vladivostok near the border with China said on Tuesday it strongly reminded Chinese nationals not to return home through the border port of Suifenhe, which was closed from Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Wuhan, a city of 11 million that reported only two new infections in the past fortnight, lifted outbound travel restrictions Tuesday midnight for the first time since it was locked down on January 23 to curb the spread of the virus.
From Wednesday, traffic control checkpoints in Wuhan will be dismantled, and normal operation of railways, airports, waterways, highways and buses will resume gradually.
Disinfections have been strengthened in key areas including expressway toll gates and underpass of railway stations to prepare for a return to normal.
The city plans to add 30 bus routes starting Wednesday, taking the total number to 346, and resume operation of one more subway line, according to the municipal transport bureau.
Other transport services, including ferries, trams and taxis, will also restart. The public has to go through real-name registration for taking public transportation or taxis in the city.
But Wuhan residents are urged not to leave their neighborhood, their city and even the province unless necessary, Hubei counter-epidemic authority said in a statement, adding it will stick to first-level emergency response in tackling COVID-19.
It asked residents passing through communities’ entries to have temperatures checked and wear a mask.
