‘Historic day’: Wuhan discharges last corona patient

“It is a historic day,” said a report in a newspaper owned by the Wuhan government and posted on the city’s website.

By Associated Press

Wuhan, the city at the center of China’s coronavirus outbreak, has no more hospitalized patients after the last 12 were discharged Sunday, the Hubei province health commission said.

Hubei’s remaining patients were all in Wuhan, the provincial capital where the outbreak took the heaviest toll in China. The 3,869 people who died in the city account for more than 80 percent of the country’s reported deaths.

“It is a historic day,” said a report in a newspaper owned by the Wuhan government and posted on the city’s website.

Hubei has no more suspected cases in its hospitals, though 1,728 people who had close contact with an infected person remain under medical observation, the province’s health commission reported Monday.

Patients remain hospitalized elsewhere in China, including 67 in Shanghai and three in Beijing. Many cities have seen an influx of cases from overseas, prompting the government to curtail international flights and entry sharply.

With the easing of the crisis, a central government team that had overseen the response in Hubei since late January departed Monday, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said.

Nine new confirmed cases were reported, the smallest single-day increase since March 14. Thailand has confirmed 2,931 cases, including 52 deaths. Officials said a proposal will be submitted to the Cabinet on Tuesday for easing restrictions according to suggestions from the state planning agency.

China is fighting back against calls for an investigation into its role in the pandemic. China’s ambassador reportedly warned the Australian government that its pursuit of a coronavirus inquiry could set off a boycott by Chinese consumers.

China also cited faults with the U.S. response to the outbreak and called for Washington itself to admit error. “Indeed, lately in the U.S. many people are questioning whether the U.S. government responded in a timely and effective manner and there are concerns,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily briefing on Monday.

China has at times accused America of starting the pandemic, blaming it on a U.S. military cyclist in Wuhan for a competition.