No new cases of coronavirus reported in China's virus epicentre
China's former virus epicentre Wuhan, and its surrounding province, has reported no new cases of the deadly coronavirus in a dramatic development in the city overwhelmed by thousands of new patients each day when the outbreak was peaking there last month.
China's health ministry said on Thursday all 34 of its new cases were in people arriving from abroad.
Staff disinfect a seating area at Tianhe airport on 17 march,2020 in Wuhan.Hubei.China. the first batch of medical assistance teams started leaving Hubei Province early on Tuesday as the epidemic outbreak in the hard-hit province has been subdued Stringer/Getty Images
Eight new deaths were reported, all in Wuhan, where the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in December and which remains under the quarantine control measures imposed weeks ago to stop its spread.
The virus has since infected more than 217,000 people worldwide and killed over 8,700, mostly in China, Italy and Iran.
An aerial view shows the completed site of the Huoshenshan (Fire God Mountain) Hospital in Wuhan, Hubei Province. EPA
The United Nations has now warned that the crisis could lead to the loss of nearly 25 million jobs around the world.
Though China still has the largest number of cases, most of its patients have recovered.
China even sent medical supplies to hard-hit France, returning a favour done by the French weeks ago.
A man wearing a face mask talks to another man through a makeshift barricade wall built to control entry and exit to a residential compound in Wuhan, Hubei, China. Flights, trains and public transport including buses, subway and ferry services remain closed following the Coronavirus outbreak. Getty
But in a grim illustration of the pandemic's shift, deaths in Italy were nearing China's toll.
Italy had more than 2,900 dead after a record one-day total of 475.
China's overall toll was around 3,200.
Iran has also been hit hard, with more than 1,100 deaths.
Patients infected with the coronavirus take rest at a temporary hospital converted from Wuhan Sports Centre in Wuhan. Xinhua
More than 83,000 people overall have recovered from the virus, which causes only mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough in most cases.
Severe illness is more likely in the elderly and those with existing health problems.
-Reported with AP
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