China lifts coronavirus lockdown on 50 MILLION people in Hubei province tonight, with Wuhan’s restrictions lifted in two weeks
- Restrictions on travelling to and from Hubei province will be lifted tomorrow
- All limitations will be removed with the exception of the city of Wuhan
- Limits on leaving Wuhan – locked down since January – will be lifted on April 8
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Restrictions on travelling to and from China’s Hubei province will be lifted on March 25.
The Health Commission for the province said on Tuesday it would remove all travel restrictions with the exception of the city of Wuhan – the provincial capital and the epicentre of the country’s coronavirus outbreak.
People who are cleared will be able to leave the province after midnight.
Travel restrictions for leaving Wuhan will be lifted on April 8, and people will be able to leave on the basis of using a health code, the commission said.
The city has been under lockdown since January 23. Sixty-million people were told to stay at home unless there was an emergency – with one person per household permitted to leave every three days to buy food and essentials and the use of private cars banned indefinitely.
Housing estates would keep only one entrance open, to be guarded to make sure only residents could enter or leave.
Chemists, hotels, food shops and medical services remained open, but all other businesses were ordered to close.
Staff at wuhan tianhe airport lined up to send off members of the hebei medical aid team. Wuhan, hubei province, China, March 18
There have now been more than 81,000 cases in China, and the death toll has reached 3,270
But in mid-February the country announced a drop in new coronavirus cases and now people in central China, where the coronavirus was first detected, were recently allowed to go back to work and public transport is restarting, as some normality slowly returns after a two-month lockdown.
The easing of restrictions in Wuhan city comes as Chinese health officials reported Monday no new local cases of the deadly virus, but confirmed another 39 infections brought from overseas.
Wuhan residents considered healthy can move around the city and take the bus or metro so long as they show ID, officials said.
They can also go back to work if they have a permit from their employer, and leave the city for other parts of the surrounding Hubei province after being tested for the virus and receiving a health certificate.
A man wearing a face mask as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus walking along a street in Wuhan in China, March 12
The virus, which emerged in a market that sold wild animals in December, sparked a dramatic lockdown of Wuhan on January 23 that was then widened to the rest of the province of nearly 60 million people.
Since then infections have slowed dramatically and for five straight days there were no new cases in Hubei.
Another nine people died in Wuhan, the National Health Commission said Monday in its latest update.
The easing of restrictions follows Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the city earlier this month – his first since the crisis erupted.
As the rate of infection slows in China, the rest of the world has stepped up measures to try and battle the raging pandemic.
Residents wearing face masks as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus taking a walk in Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province, March 12
China is anxious about an influx of infections brought in from other countries, with the number of imported cases climbing steadily in recent weeks to pass 350.
Of the 39 new cases reported Monday, 10 were in Shanghai and 10 were in Beijing.
Many cities have brought in tough rules to quarantine new arrivals.
Authorities have said all Beijing-bound international flights will be diverted to other cities where they will be screened for the virus to help make the process more efficient.
Those who get the all-clear will be allowed to continue to Beijing where they will still be sent to quarantine facilities.
There have now been over 81,000 cases in China, and the death toll has reached 3,270.