Beijing: China did not report new local cases of fatal coronavirus for the third consecutive day on Saturday, but confirmed that the number of infections from abroad remains highest.
In China, infection rates have been slowing for several weeks, while the rest of the world is taking steps to combat the epidemic.
On Friday, the World Health Organization praised China for successfully combating the outbreak in Wuhan, the city’s first appearance of the virus late last year.
“Wuhan provides hope for the rest of the world that even the most severe situation can be turned around,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual news conference in Geneva.
At the end of January, approximately 56 million people were blocked in Wuhan and the surrounding areas of Hubei, but as the number of cases decreases, authorities are gradually reducing travel restrictions.
However, China has stepped up controls against infections from other countries and another 41 cases were reported on Saturday, the highest one-day record ever.
So far, a total of 269 cases have been brought to China from abroad. Beijing and elsewhere are forcing international immigrants to quarantine for 14 days, while the Civil Aviation Ministry said this week that it will limit the number of passengers on international flights.
There are already more than 81,000 cases in China, but according to the Health Council, only 6,013 patients still have the disease.
The death toll has also dropped, with seven people on Saturday, all in Hubei province.
With the crisis moving from Asia to Europe, China’s death toll (currently 3,255) has been overtaken by Italy this week, killing more than 4,000.
The outbreak has infected more than 250,000 people worldwide and killed more than 11,000 people.
