China reports NO fresh coronavirus cases in epicentre Wuhan or Hubei signalling epidemic could be passing
CHINA reported NO fresh coronavirus cases in the epicentre Wuhan or surrounding Hubei province on Wednesday - signalling the epidemic there could be passing.
The deadly COVID-19 outbreak first emerged in the central region late last year and it has gone on to spread worldwide - killing more than 8,700 and infecting over 215,000 to date.
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China's health ministry said on Thursday that results over the past 24 hours showed 34 new cases - all detected in people arriving from abroad.
New coronavirus infections in Wuhan are now expected to dry up in a matter of days, the state-backed China Daily reported - meaning the lockdown there could be lifted.
But while no new local cases were reported, there were eight new deaths in China - all in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people.
Strict disease control and prevention measures will still be needed to prevent a possible rebound, China Daily reported, citing epidemiologist Li Lanjuan.
Li, director of China's State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, said: "If no new case of the coronavirus has been reported for 14 consecutive days in Wuhan following the last reported case, we believe it will be the time when the lockdown can be gradually lifted.
"We expect new cases will cease to appear in mid or late March.
"After the lockdown is loosened, we still need to strictly carry out routine measures to prevent and control the virus to prevent a possible rebound of the outbreak."
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At the peak of its outbreak, Wuhan reported thousands of new cases of coronavirus infection daily - overwhelming its health care system.
Of those new cases of infection, 21 were in Beijing, nine in the southern manufacturing powerhouse of Guangdong, two in Shanghai and one each in coastal Zhejiang and Heilongjing in the far northeast.
China has only just begun loosening draconian travel restrictions within the country.
But it has stepped-up its 14-day quarantine regulations on those arriving in Beijing, Shanghai and elsewhere from overseas.
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Those measures came amid expectations of a new influx of students and others returning home.
China has now recorded a total of 80,928 confirmed virus cases with 3,245 deaths - with Hubei accounting for a third of the global total.
Another 70,420 people have been released from hospital and 7,263 remain in treatment.
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