BEIJING – China on Thursday marked a major milestone in its battle againstthe coronavirus pandemic as it recorded zero domestic infections for thefirst time since the outbreak emerged, but a spike in imported casesthreatened its progress.
The stark reversal comes as nations across the world have shut down in adesperate effort to contain the pandemic, with more people now infected andhaving died abroad than in China.
There were no new cases in Wuhan — the central city where the virus firstemerged in December — for the first time since authorities startedpublishing figures in January, according to the National Health Commission.
Wuhan and its 11 million people were placed under strict quarantine onJanuary 23, with more than 40 million other people in the rest of Hubeiprovince entering lockdown in the following days.
The rest of China also enacted tough measures to limit public gatherings.
There were eight more deaths in China — all in Hubei — raising thenationwide total to 3,245, according to the commission.
There have been nearly 81,000 infections in China but only 7,263 peopleremain sick with the COVID-19 disease.
Read Top Stories
The global number has shot past 200,000, with more than 8,700 deaths.
On March 10, President Xi Jinping visited Wuhan for the first time sincethe outbreak began and declared that the spread of the disease was“basically curbed”.
On the same day, Hubei officials allowed people to travel within theprovince for the first time since January, excluding Wuhan.
On Wednesday, Hubei authorities announced they were partially opening itsborders to allow healthy people from low-risk areas to leave the provinceif they have jobs or residences elsewhere. This also excludes Wuhan.
Life has slowly started to return to normal in the rest of the country,with people back at work, factories up and running, and schools in someregions resuming or preparing to go back to class. -APP/AFP
