Light show as Wuhan opens up after being closed

A light show has illuminated the night sky in Wuhan to mark the end of a lockdown that served as a model for countries battling the coronavirus around the world.

Buildings and bridges were lit along the part of Yangtze river that runs through the city as residents watched and cheered.

After 11 weeks, Chinese authorities are moving to allow residents of Wuhan to once again travel in and out of the sprawling city where the pandemic began.

Just after midnight on Wednesday, the city's 11 million residents will be permitted to leave without special authorization as long as a mandatory smart phone application powered by a mix of data-tracking and government surveillance shows they are healthy and have not been in recent contact with anyone confirmed to have the virus.

Restrictions in the city where most of China's more than 82,000 virus cases and over 3,300 deaths were reported have been gradually relaxed in recent weeks as the number of new cases steadily declined. The latest government figures reported on Tuesday listed no new cases.