Beijing Relaxes COVID-19 Curbs; Zero Cases In China's Wuhan

Beijing on Friday decided to lower its COVID-19 emergency response, marking the return of normalcy in China's capital following the coronavirus outbreak, while the central city of Wuhan, the origin point of the pandemic, cleared all its confirmed cases.

Wuhan recorded zero cases of the virus following testing of 10 million people.

Beijing city will lower its emergency response to the novel coronavirus epidemic from the second level to the third level starting Saturday, a local official announced on Friday.

On May 17, the Beijing Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said it was not necessary to wear masks.

On Friday, the Beijing municipal government said the city will lift purchasing restrictions on plane and train tickets for people from the central province of Hubei province including those from the provincial capital Wuhan, except those from medium- and high-risk areas.

The residential compounds in Beijing will no longer need to take people's temperatures, although registration is still needed, Chen Bei, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing municipal government told the media.

In the tourism sector, Beijing will allow domestic group tours under proper conditions, except those from medium- and high-risk areas.

Inbound and outbound group tours will remain suspended.

Parks, tourist sites and public indoor venues will allow more visitors under strict prevention and control measures.

Some events, such as conferences, exhibitions, sports matches and entertainment shows, can be held under some restrictions, according to the municipal government.

Schools can resume classes in an orderly manner and masks will not be required for outdoor activities.

Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, has cleared all its confirmed COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the provincial health commission said Friday.

As of Thursday, the last three COVID-19 patients in the province had been cured, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

No new asymptomatic cases were reported on Thursday, while, 217 asymptomatic cases were still under medical observation, it said.

Asymptomatic cases, also known as silent spreaders, pose a problem as the patients are tested COVID-19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat.

Hubei reported a total of 68,135 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 4,512 deaths.

According to China's National Health Commission (NHC), five imported cases, including four in Shanghai and one in Sichuan Province, were reported in the country on Thursday.

Three new asymptomatic cases were also reported, taking the total of such cases under medical observation to 297, the NHC said.

As of Thursday, the overall confirmed cases on the mainland have reached 83,027, including 66 patients who were still being treated, and 78,327 people who had been discharged after recovery.

Altogether 4,634 people have died of the disease, the NHC said.

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