Wuhan eases coronavirus lockdown as restrictions intensify outside China
WUHAN - Wuhan, the centre of the coronavirus outbreak in China, has begun to loosen its two-month lockdown on citizens as more countries issued new restrictions to contain the pandemic.
On Monday, small groups of residents in the central Chinese city were leaving their residential compounds, going to grocery stores and walking along the streets for the first time in weeks. At the weekend, the first train arrived in the city ferrying more than 1,000 workers from elsewhere in the province back to the city for work.
On Sunday, local authorities said residents could begin returning to work if they did not have a temperature and could provide a green health code, signifying their virus-free status as well as a certificate from their employer. Officials said the city would be “gradually” reopened and public transportation would resume. Non-residents, those stranded in Wuhan since the stringent travel restrictions went into effect on 23 January, could also begin applying to leave the city, city authorities said. Residents in Wuhan said only those from compounds deemed virus-free were allowed to leave and that citizens were still wary of going out onto the streets. “Everyone is being very careful,” said Iris Yao, 40, who has been in the city for the last two months. While the officially reported number of locally transmitted infections in China has dropped dramatically over the last weeks, imported cases continue to rise.
On Monday, China reported 39 new cases from the previous day, all of which were from imported cases, according to the National Health Commission. On Sunday, China ordered that all international flights to Beijing to be diverted to other cities where passengers will be screened before continuing on to the capital. Shanghai and Guangzhou have said they will begin testing all international arrivals for the virus.
(The Guardian)