Hubei eases restrictions after zero locally transmitted infections were reported
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Mainland China reported a drop in new confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday as imported infections fell and zero locally transmitted infections were reported, including in central Hubei province.
The number of new cases totalled 47 on Tuesday, all of which were from travellers returning home, down from 78 a day earlier, the National Health Commission said.
Chinese premier Li Keqiang has warned local governments not to cover up new cases of Covid-19, as low daily rates of infection prompted the relaxing of travel restrictions in Hubei province, where the pandemic started.
Li’s comments came as analysts questioned the veracity of China’s claims that the nation has had several days with no new domestic cases.Speaking to a meeting of the central leading group responding to the outbreak on Monday, Li urged officials to report honestly on the number of cases, and “not cover up reports for the sake of keeping new case numbers at zero”, according to Caixin Global.
Li said worldwide analysis of the virus showed the virus was unlikely to dissipate like Sars.
He warned that while the epidemic in Hubei and Wuhan had essentially been stopped, there were still risks of sporadic outbreaks.
There are currently 422,915 confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide, of which 108,573 patients have recovered.
There have been 18,915 deaths. Italy’s number of deaths (6,820) is more than twice those in Hubei, China (3,160). Spain looks likely to lose more lives than Hubei soon, too, with 2,991.
Here are the ten countries with the highest numbers of confirmed infections – Italy is around 10,000 confirmed cases from overtaking China and the US is not far behind.
