Wednesday was the first day that China didn’t have a single domestic case. The country is where the outbreak started and overall, there have been more than 81,000 infections on the mainland. While 3,245 have died, more than 70,000 have already recovered. Currently, there are just over 10,000 active infections.
Already for the past days, China’s focus has therefore been on stopping the virus from being brought back into the country. Most new cases had been travellers coming into China – on Wednesday, every single new case was thought to have come in from overseas.
At the peak of its outbreak, China had implemented rigorous quarantine measures and restrictions on movement to stop the spread.
The success of these measures and the declining number of new cases do not though mean the country is out of the woods. The population remains as vulnerable to new infections as it was before and authorities are therefore meticulously screening or quarantining anyone who comes in from abroad. – BBC News
Global summary by BBC News
Australia’s island state Tasmania to quarantine all arrivals
Asian countries including China and South Korea are seeing sudden spikes in cases
European Central Bank announces a huge emergency bond-buying scheme to support the euro
Two US members of Congress have tested positive for coronavirus
The UAE says resident visas holders who are currently abroad will not be allowed back for two weeks
Italy registers 475 new deaths – the highest one-day rise since it was hit by the virus
The UK is to shut schools – but they will still need to look after children of key workers
Canada and US closing border to non-essential transit
Confirmed cases worldwide pass 200,000, more than 8,000 people have died
