China’s Wuhan reports zero increase in novel coronavirus infections

Wuhan, Mar 19 : No new infections of the novel coronavirus were reported on Thursday in Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic, marking a notable first in the city’s months-long battle with the deadly virus.
The Health Commission of Hubei Province, where Wuhan is the capital, said the virus’ death toll climbed by eight in the province, but the total confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Wuhan and Hubei remained at 50,005 and 67,800 on Wednesday.
No increase was observed in the province’s number of suspected cases, which fell to zero on Tuesday, in another indication that large-scale transmissions have been suppressed at the epidemic ground zero.
Moreover, no new suspected COVID-19 cases were reported for two consecutive days in Hubei, and the existing suspected cases have been cleared after ruling out three suspected cases on March 17, according to NHC’s daily report.
The province also saw 795 patients discharged from hospital after recovery on Wednesday, reducing its caseload of hospitalized patients to 6,636, including 1,809 in severe condition and 465 in critical condition.
With no new cases in Wuhan, the Chinese mainland on Wednesday reduced the increase in domestic transmissions to zero. The country now faces a greater threat of infections imported from overseas, which jumped by 34 on Wednesday.
Moreover, no new suspected COVID-19 cases were reported for two consecutive days in Hubei, and the existing suspected cases have been cleared after ruling out three suspected cases on March 17, according to NHC’s daily report.
Since the coronavirus case was first identified in Wuhan in December as a new pathogen facing mankind, China has spared no effort to contain the outbreak in the past three months, canceling mass events, closing scenic spots and imposing traffic restrictions.
The virus has so far caused a total of 80,928 infections and 3,245 fatalities, defying earlier predictions by foreign researchers of a more extensive national outbreak.
UNI