While the rate of infections dropped, Chinese authorities designated around 7,000 residential blocks in Wuhan “epidemic free”. Wuhan has, of course, been under a severe lockdown for months in a bid to battle the spread of the virus. Travel restrictions were set to be lifted on Wednesday in the city but due to the new outbreaks, 45 of the previously designated “safe zones” have had their designations revoked following the emergence of asymptomatic cases.

On Wednesday, Wuhan began to allow its citizens to leave the central Chinese city, 76 days after it was locked down in a bid to control the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Wuhan is the seat and the centre of the virus that has killed thousands of people worldwide and battered economies across the globe. According to media estimates, around 65,000 people have left the city within hours of the restrictions being lifted.

However, even as the virus’ effects on the world’s second-largest economy eases, it continues to wreak havoc in other parts of the world. In the United States, the confirmed cases have touched 400,000 whereas, in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in intensive care even as the country reported its biggest daily rise in deaths.

According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the number of people diagnosed with the disease exceeds 1.4 million and more than 82,000 people have died. However, more than 300,000 people have also recovered.