China reported no new cases of coronavirus in Wuhan where the virus has supposedly originated, or surrounding Hubei province. Does it indicate the pandemic is on its way out?
The deadly COVID-19 outbreak emerged from the Wuhan region, supposedly from its wet markets, and has spread like wildfire globally killing more than 8,700 and infecting over 215,000 to date.
According to an epidemiologist Li Lanjuan, the lockdown in Wuhan could end in a matter of days. Almost the entire world has gone into isolation, and self-quarantine and almost all of the busiest roads and streets are not empty. This measure was taken in order to contain the spread of the virus.
China’s health ministry said on Thursday results show that over the past 24 hours only 34 new cases have been detected but all of them arrived from abroad.
Now that no new cases have originated in the Wuhan region, the lockdown could be lifted in a matter of days.
However, this does not mean the horror is over. Eight new deaths have been reported in the Wuhan province. The Chinese govt will take all the necessary precautions to ensure that a rebound does not happen.
Li, director of China’s State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, said: “If no new case of the coronavirus has been reported for 14 consecutive days in Wuhan following the last reported case, we believe it will be the time when the lockdown can be gradually lifted. We expect new cases will cease to appear in mid or late March.”
However, strict preventive measures still need to be carried out even now to control the virus and prevent a possible rebound from taking place.
At the peak of the outbreak, Wuhan reported thousands of new cases of coronavirus infection on a daily basis.
