China has recorded fewer new cases of Coronavirus coming from abroad, but the number of local infections has increased and new domestic cases have appeared in the capital, Beijing, for the first time in more than three weeks.
An increasing number of Chinese regions have begun to make corona virus tests publicly available to prevent the epidemic from recurring as work resumes. Meanwhile, local authorities are offering vouchers to the residents in the hope that they will spend money to revive the economy, which has been badly hit by the outbreak.
It is expected that China will announce tomorrow, Friday, a 6.5% contraction in its economy during the first quarter of the year, and this will be the first contraction recorded since at least 1992 when it began to release data on the quarterly GDP.
The National Health Commission of China said, today, Thursday, that the number of cases coming from abroad decreased to 34 yesterday, Wednesday, from 36 the day before, in a decline for the third day in a row, as the authorities tightened borders checks, reducing the number of flights and banning entry to foreigners.
But the number of domestic infections rose to 12 from 10 the previous day, and three of them in Beijing had had no cases since March 23.
In total, the Chinese mainland registered 46 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, the same number as in the previous day, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 82,341 as of Wednesday.
Today, Thursday, official TV reported that President Xi Jinping had agreed to withdraw 4,000 medical personnel who had sent to Hubei, where the disease first appeared, in another sign that life in the province and its capital, Wuhan, is heading towards a return to normal.
In Wuhan, the authorities this month lifted general and sanitary isolation measures that paralyzed the city of 11 million people for more than two months as part of a determined effort to contain the disease.
The number of new cases with no symptoms increased to 64 compared to 57 the previous day. China does not include patients who do not show symptoms such as cough or fever to confirmed cases.