China reports no new domestic coronavirus case for second consecutive day

China has reportedly gone the second consecutive day with no new local coronavirus infections as the epicentre of the outbreak, Hubei province, lifts the lockdown. There is, however, a sudden spike of imported cases as Beijing ramped up containment effort to prevent a resurgence of the disease. 

At least 67 new cases were recorded, up from 47 a day earlier, all of which were imported, China's National Health Commission said in a statement. The total number of confirmed cases now stands at 81,285. At least 3,287 fatalities were reported as of March 25, which surged from 6 reported previously. Most cases were reported in Shanghai, at least 18, followed by Inner Mongolia region at 12, and Guangdong province at 11, as per the media reports. The number of new daily cases remains low compared to that of the outbreak in the country in the month of February. That has subsequently allowed Beijing to resume economic activity and lift the lockdown completely. 

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Commercial flights to resume from April 8

According to reports, no new cases were reported in the Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak that witnessed most cases across the country. Over 60 million people were put on the lockdown. On March 25, Public transport restarted and residents in the city of Xianning were allowed to move. The lockdown in the Hubei province, China, is expected to be lifted by April 8. Also, Hubei reported 58 new suspected cases, mostly imported, and nationwide 159 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus, the active cases so far, National Health Commission told the press. 

Wuhan will also resume commercial flights from April 8, excluding international flights to and from Beijing. The government has downgraded the risk level of Wuhan for the COVID-19 outbreak from high to medium, according to official media reports. According to the Johns Hopkins coronavirus tracker, there are 471,518 confirmed cases across the world and 21,293 deaths recorded. 

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