Chinese authorities have lifted a monthslong lockdown on Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus pandemic began.
The very first cases of the novel coronavirus were detected in Wuhan back in December. The city of 11 million people went on lockdown on Jan. 23 in an effort to control the spread of the virus, the first in the world to do so.
The bulk of the Chinese mainland’s nearly 82,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 3,300 deaths have been reported in Wuhan, the capital of central Hubei province. However, the strict travel restrictions in the city have been gradually eased in recent weeks as the number of new infections continuously declined.
The final restrictions on outbound travel were lifted Wednesday. Thousands of people streamed out of the city via car, train and plane.
China’s National Health Commission on Wednesday reported no new cases in Wuhan nor the greater Hubei province, though questions have been raised over the accuracy of China’s figures.
