China’s health ministry today claimed the coronavirus epicentre of Wuhan and its surrounding Hubei province had no new cases of the deadly contagion which has ripped across the globe.
The ministry said Thursday that results over the past 24 hours showed 34 new cases, all detected in people arriving from abroad.
In the central province of Hubei, there were eight new deaths, with the provincial capital Wuhan accounting for six of the fatalities.
Of the 34 imported infections, Beijing accounted for 21 cases, a daily record for the city. It brings the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China so far to 80,928, including 3,245 deaths.
Wuhan at the peak reported thousands of new cases of coronavirus infection daily, overwhelming its health care system.
More than 70,000 people have been released from hospital and 7,263 remain in treatment.
Wuhan is expected to see new coronavirus infections dry up by mid-to-late March and its lockdown may be lifted once there are no new cases for 14 days, the state-backed China Daily reported.
However, strict disease control and prevention measures will still be needed to prevent a possible rebound, China Daily reported on Thursday, citing epidemiologist Li Lanjuan.
Story adapted from Daily Mail UK and picture by The Hill
Award winning journalist and writer who has worked as a stringer for a couple of acclaimed South Africa based German journalists, covered 3 Ugandan elections, 2008 Kenya election crisis, with interests in business and sports reporting.
