China Eases Measures Against New Coronavirus in Large Parts of the Country

In large parts of China, travel restrictions were lifted on Monday, and people can move around more freely. President Xi Jinping wants to get the Chinese economy back on track, severely affected by the new coronavirus.

The measures in the hard-hit city of Wuhan, unlike previous reports, remain in force.

Figures released by the Chinese health authorities on Monday show that no additional infections with the new coronavirus were recorded on Sunday in 24 of the 31 Chinese regions and provinces.

Even in capital Beijing and the very densely populated areas in and around Shanghai and in the Henan and Anhui provinces, no new patients were added. Those are the best figures since the authorities started publishing national statistics on 20 January.

On Sunday, 398 new patients were registered in Hubei Province, the epicentre of the new coronavirus outbreak. The day before that there were 630. In the six remaining provinces together, only eleven new patients were counted.

President Xi said on Sunday that he was satisfied with the “positive turnaround” and urged companies to resume work and protect jobs.

He added that provinces affected “to a lesser extent” by the virus should restore economic activity and production. Regions that are severely affected by the epidemic, such as Hubei, should continue to focus on reducing the epidemic.