Chinese authorities and experts agree there's a visible improvement
in the country COVID-19 outbreak situation, with some places in
the country ceasing to issue a daily report of infections after seeing
zero new cases in several days and a top epidemiologist saying that
the epicenter Wuhan is coming out of its darkest moment of the virus
outbreak.
Many regions in China, including nine provinces, have not reported
any new confirmed cases of COVID-19 for several consecutive
days, and even in Wuhan, the epidemic epicenter, the situation is
getting better.
"Wuhan is coming out of its darkest moment," Zeng Guang, chief
epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease and Control said
Saturday.
The Chinese authorities are gradually easing the control and
prevention measures nationwide, including some places of Hubei
Province.
The authorities in Jingzhou of Hubei announced that all traffic
restrictions in rural areas of the city would be lifted effective 10 am
Saturday, local media reported Friday.
Four cities in Central Chinas Henan and two cities in East Chinas
Anhui said they will cease to announce the daily report on the
epidemic situation if there is no confirmed new case. This
announcement came after the aforementioned places reported zero
new cases for several consecutive days.
Businesses across China are also reviving. More than 95 percent of
Shanghais 277 shopping malls and 80 departmental stores have
resumed operation as the COVID-19 epidemic situation in the city
has improved, Shanghai-based the Paper reported.
"The rapid rise of the epidemic has been curbed," the central
government supervision group announced at a press conference on
Friday.
With the improvement of the epidemic situation in Wuhan and
Hubei, prevention and control measures will be adjusted in time in
line with related rules and regulations, Ding Xiangyang, member of
the supervision group, said at the press conference.
"Winter is over and spring is here. The day that everyone is
expecting is not too far away," Ding said.
However, Ding also cautioned against losing grip on the awareness,
adding that following all the precautionary measures is crucial.
Zhou Zijun, a public health expert at Peking University, believes
China can maintain its current steadily improving tendency of the
outbreak prevention.
He noted people returning to work wouldnt pose high risks of
epidemic spread as all Chinese people and enterprises already have a
strong awareness of COVID-19 prevention and control, noting it is
still important to limit trips to crowded places and avoid parties.
While the domestic situation is improving, the outbreak globally is
looking grim. China has to pay more attention to preventing and
controlling imported cases from abroad, Zhou told the Global Times.