Businesses in Wuhan begin return to normality as coronavirus outbreak subsides
Some vital industries at the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, in Wuhan, in the Chinese province of Hubei, were told on Wednesday that they could restart operations after the coronavirus outbreak subsided.
Despite being where the virus originated on 31 December last year, measures taken to control the spread of the virus appeared to have done the trick.
The city of 11m had been in lockdown since late January as the caseload of infected patients in China climbed, having reached 80,924 by 10 March, claiming 3,140 deaths along the way.
The partial lifting of restrictions in Wuhan came as the epicentre of the virus had shifted to outside of China.
New infections in Hubei meanwhile had continued to stabilise, with new confirmed infections declining for the sixth consecutive day to hit 17.
The provincial government said public transport workers in Wuhan and those engaged in the manufacture of medical supplies and daily necessities could return to work.
Other industries with an impact on national or global supply chains could also return to work, if the necessary authorisations were obtained, the government added.
Curbs on transport in Wuhan remained in place and schools in the province would remain closed until further notice.
According to Reuters, activity should be fully restored by the end of April.