Coronavirus: Wuhan City reports zero infections for first time
The Chinese province at the center of the coronavirus outbreak reported no new infections for the first time since the pathogen emerged more than two months ago, marking a turning point in an epidemic that’s infected almost 81,000 Chinese and threatens to push the world’s second-largest economy into its first quarterly contraction in decades.
The milestone for Hubei province comes as China struggles to get back on its feet after being flattened by a disease that exploded out of the city of Wuhan in late January.
It’s grappling with the aftermath of containment measures that have wrought enormous social and economic damage, most of all in the 60-million province of Hubei, which is still under mass quarantine.
And with the virus accelerating its spread worldwide and people within China resuming work and social activities, a second wave of infections is almost guaranteed, say experts, given how contagious the pathogen is and how easily it slips past country borders.
Indeed, even as Hubei’s numbers have dwindled to zero, China is facing another concern as imported cases continue to add to the country’s tally of infections.
The National Health Commission reported 34 new cases for March 18, all of them patients who brought the disease from other countries.
China should watch out for “very infectious” cases among travelers entering China from other countries, and some show no symptoms at first, prominent Chinese infectious disease expert Zhong Nanshan said in a press conference on Wednesday.
