Lockdown ends in Wuhan, China, where coronavirus outbreak likely originated

The Chinese government has reopened the city of Wuhan — where it’s believed the novel coronavirus originated — after more than two months of complete lockdown.

The lifting of the lockdown on the capital of China’s Hubei province comes after just three new cases of the virus were reported in the city the past three weeks and a day after China reported no new fatalities for the first time since January, The New York Times reports.

According to the Times, China’s national rail operator has estimated that 55,000 people will leave Wuhan, an industrial center of 11 million, by train on Wednesday.

Wuhan’s deputy mayor said at a news briefing on Sunday that 93 percent of the city’s businesses had resumed operations.  

Despite the steps towards normalcy, Wuhan officials are still recommending that people stay home as much as possible and schools are still closed. Two-thirds of China’s 80,000-plus reported cases of COVID-19 came from Wuhan.