BEIJING (Reuters) – Mainland China reported on Tuesday no coronavirus deaths for the first time since the pandemic began and a drop in new cases, a day before the central city of Wuhan, where the virus emerged late in December, was set to lift its lockdown.
China had 32 new infections by Monday, down from 39 a day earlier, the National Health Commission said.
For the first time since the commission began publishing nationwide data in late January, Hubei’s provincial capital of Wuhan saw no new deaths, joining the rest of mainland China, which has recorded none since March 31.
Wuhan, a city of 11 million that reported only two new infections in the past fortnight, is due to allow residents to leave the city on Wednesday for the first time since it was locked down on Jan. 23 to curb the spread of the virus.
From midnight, traffic control checkpoints in Wuhan will be dismantled, and normal operation of railways, airports, waterways, highways and buses will resume.
But zero new cases do not mean zero risks, the provincial counter-epidemic authority said in a statement.