Hubei [China ], April 27 (ANI): After more than three months of an arduous fight, Wuhan, the city located at the heart of China and epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, has cleared all remaining cases related to the deadly infection in its hospitals, health authorities told Xinhua news agency on Sunday.
This came as a 77-year-old man surnamed Ding tested negative for the second time for coronavirus in the capital city of Hubei province. He no longer had clinical symptoms and was able to be discharged, an official with Wuhan Municipal Health Commission was quoted as saying.
Mi Feng, a spokesperson for the National Health Commission, said at a press conference in Beijing that the outcome was earned through the hard work of medical workers in Wuhan and those sent from across the country.
Nearly 3 million people have been reported to be infected globally and more than 200,000 have died, as per records of US-based Johns Hopkins University. However, the Chinese mainland, by Saturday, registered 82,827 COVID-19 cases and stated that more than 93.4 per cent of them had been recovered.
Meanwhile, Sunday’s announcement was a new testament that the local spread of COVID-19 in the country has been curbed. This came five days after its cases dropped to double digits and less than 70 days after daily hospitalised cases peaked at 38,020. “It is a historic day,” said Shang You, a critical care unit doctor in Wuhan said.
“We have been waiting for this day for so long,” he added. Beginning from January 23, Wuhan was put under a lockdown that lasted 76 days. In Wuhan, scores of hospitals were designated to treat COVID-19 patients and 16 temporary hospitals were set up, opening up 60,000 hospital beds to meet the surging demand.
Over 42,000 medical workers were sent to Hubei from across the country, as well as key medical supplies such as ventilators, protective suits, masks and daily necessities. Since February 18, Chinese authorities said, the cases in Wuhan saw a steady decline.
As of Saturday, Wuhan had reported a total of 50,333 confirmed cases and 3,869 deaths. The recovery rate has topped 92 per cent, according to the health officials. In Hubei, no new confirmed cases have been reported for over 20 days, and the number of remaining cases dropped below 50.
Authorities further added that life is returning to normal. Hubei’s work resumption rate of major industrial firms has reached 98.2 per cent and most of their workers have got back to work.
Schools will soon open. Students in the final year of senior high schools in Hubei are expected to return to classes on May 6. Officials said for the next step Wuhan must keep guarding against imported cases while preventing a resurgence of the outbreak. As of Saturday, there were still 801 COVID-19 patients being treated on the Chinese mainland, including 51 in severe condition. (ANI)
