Yahoo News Wuhan lifts coronavirus lockdown after months-long quarantine to stem Covid-19 spread
The Chinese city where the coronavirus outbreak first began has lifted mass lockdown restrictions after more than 70 days.
Wuhan, capital of the Hubei province, lifted the city-wide quarantine overnight, with 55,000 people who had been trapped there now expected to return home.
The city is home to some 11 million residents, all of whom were put under strict stay-at-home measures from late January as the epidemic unfolded.
More than 50,000 caught the virus in the city, 2,500 of which died, according to official figures.
More than 10,000 travellers have left the city by plane so far, with flights resuming at Wuhan Tianhe airport.
However, residents have also been urged not to leave their neighbourhood, their city and even the province unless absolutely necessary.
People from Wuhan arriving in the Chinese capital Beijing will also have to undergo two rounds of testing for the virus
The ease in restrictions comes after Wuhan saw just three new confirmed infections in the past 21 days and only two new infections in the past fortnight.
Swathes of China were put on lockdown as the virus took hold across the nation.
As of Tuesday, the total number of confirmed cases in mainland China stood at 81,802 with 3,333 fatalities, the National Health Commission said.
While some areas are being liberated, some have begun shutting down amid fears of a second wave of infections.
Suifenhe City in Heilongjiang restricted the movement of its citizens on Wednesday. Its residents must stay in their residential compounds and one person from a family can leave once every three days to buy necessities.
Read more
No chance of lifting lockdown after three weeks, Government admits
