Dimitris Kouimtsidis
CHINA has reported no new local coronavirus cases for the first time since the outbreak began.
Officials in the country said they have ‘seen the dawn’ of an end to the epidemic.
Figures from yesterday show that there were zero new cases in Wuhan or the wider Hubei province, which is where the virus is believed to have originated.
Authorities have still advised people to stay cautious, as 34 cases were imported from abroad.
There were also eight new deaths yesterday, bringing the total number of deaths to 3,245 out of 80,928 cases.
“Today we have seen the dawn after so many days of hard effort,” said Jiao Yahui, a senior inspector at the National Health Commission.
Wuhan has been under an extreme form of lockdown since January and only those with special permission can travel in or out.
Officials are looking to lift certain restrictions in the greater area of Hubei province, but the city of Wuhan will only get its lockdown removed once there are no new cases reported for two consecutive weeks.
According to Li Lanjuan, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, that could be as early as next month.
