Wuhan begins to lift two-month long lockdown

WUHAN: The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak first emerged, began lifting a two-month lockdown on Saturday by restarting some metro services and reopening borders.

The reopening of Wuhan after being cut-off from the rest of the country for two months marks a turning point in China’s fight against the virus, allowing some semblance of normality to return and families to reunite.

Local authorities took strict measures to stop people from entering or leaving the industrial city of 11 million people in central China. Families were confined to their homes, bus and taxi services were shut, and only essential stores were allowed to remain open.

China’s National Health Commission said on Saturday that 54 new coronavirus cases were reported on Friday, all involving imported cases. China now has 81,394 cases, with the death toll rising by three to 3,295, the commission said.

Wuhan accounts for about 60 percent of China’s coronavirus cases, but they have fallen sharply in recent weeks, a sign that the measures are working. The last confirmed locally transmitted case of the virus in Wuhan was on Monday.

China is focusing on the risk posed by imported cases involving citizens returning home. It has suspended the entry of foreign nationals with valid Chinese visas and residence permits effective Saturday. Wuhan authorities were taking few chances even with the decline in cases and loosening of restrictions.

Life in Wuhan remains far from normal. The vast majority of shops are shut while bright yellow roadblocks remain. Wuhan will not let people leave the city until April 8.

Wuhan has paid a heavy price for the outbreak, with more than 50,000 people infected and more COVID-19 deaths than any other city in China. Wuhan initially struggled to contain the outbreak, but numbers have fallen dramatically in recent weeks.

Official figures show there have been fewer than 20 new cases across the province in the past fortnight. More than 2,500 people are still hospitalised with the disease including nearly 900 severe cases.