Wuhan residents head outdoors for first time in months as coronavirus lockdown eases

Residents of Wuhan – the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic began – have been able to go outside for the first time in months after the city finally reopened.

Parks, rivers and outdoor spaces were visited by careful streams of people once more after officials eased lockdown measures.

The town’s population of 11 million people were among the first to be placed into home quarantine at the end of January, following the outbreak of the deadly virus.

But now, the day after China reported just 36 new Covid-19 cases, citizens are starting to return to work, tracked by a smartphone app that shows if they are free of symptoms.

Shops and other businesses have also reopened, as have the city’s borders – allowing people to travel in and out.

The outbreak began in December and has resulted in tens of millions of people being prevented from leaving their homes.

The UK, France, Spain and Italy are among a number of European countries to bring in restrictive measures to try to stem the infection rate.

The number of global cases of the disease is approaching one million, with more than 50,000 people confirmed dead.

On Tuesday, China reported just one new death from the disease and dozens of new cases, claiming that all new cases came from overseas.

It has now been overtaken by Italy, Spain and the US in total national death toll – as governments across the world ramp up testing to curb the loss of lives.