China reports fewest new COVID-19 cases on record

PanARMENIAN.Net - China reported just eight cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday (Mar 13), five of which were in the epicentre of Wuhan in Hubei province, where city governments have started to loosen travel curbs, CNA says.

The numbers are the lowest daily tally for Wuhan since China started reporting figures in January.

Three more imported cases from overseas were reported in China - two in Shanghai and one in Beijing - fuelling fears about China's strict containment measures being undone by people coming in from hotspots in other countries.

There have now been 88 imported cases.

Another seven people died, bringing the national toll from the disease in mainland China to 3,176. More than 80,000 people have been infected since the outbreak began in December 2019.

Outside Hubei, about 60 per cent of small- and medium-sized firms and 95 per cent of large ones have gone back to work, industry vice minister Xin Guobin said on Friday.