China on Thursday reported no new domestic cases of the coronavirus for the first time since it started recording them in January, but recorded a spike in infections from abroad.

The lack of domestic infections marks a major milestone in China's containment efforts, but the rise in imported cases threatens to unravel its progress.

There were 34 cases that were brought in from abroad, the biggest daily increase in two weeks, with 189 in total now, according to the National Health Commission.

But the figures showed that the outbreak is under control in Wuhan, the central city where the virus first emerged in December, and the surrounding Hubei province.

There were eight more deaths — all in Hubei — raising the nationwide total to 3,245, according to the commission.

There have been nearly 81,000 infections in China but only 7,263 people remain sick with the COVID-19 disease.

China fears grow over imported virus cases as domestic ones fall
Beijing (AFP) March 18, 2020 –

China reported just one new domestic case of the coronavirus on Wednesday but a dozen more imported infections, heightening fears over the risk of cases brought in from overseas.

For the second consecutive day there was only one more fresh infection in Wuhan, the central city where the virus first emerged late last year, the National Health Commission said.

New cases in surrounding Hubei province have now been in the single digits for the past seven days, down from a peak of several thousand a day in early February.

Wuhan and its 11 million people were placed under strict quarantine on January 23, with the rest of Hubei entering lockdown in the following days.

But there has been an easing of restrictions in some parts of the province in recent days, with China saying it has "basically curbed" the spread of the virus.

Some smaller cities are now allowing healthy people to leave the province under strict controls to return to work or their hometowns.

And within the province many companies are back at work, after the government said last week that key firms could apply for approval to resume business.

Hubei's car manufacturers — including in virus epicentre Wuhan — have been given the green light to resume operations, said a provincial official at a press conference Wednesday.

He said more than 7,600 companies in the province had returned to work.

But imported cases are a rising concern for China, with 12 more reported Wednesday, bringing the total number to 155 and fuelling fears of an influx.

An average of 20,000 people are flying into China every day, according to the government, and 10 Chinese provinces and cities are imposing mandatory quarantines on those arriving from abroad.

Beijing is requiring almost all international arrivals go into a 14-day quarantine at designated hotels in the capital.

Many of the imported infections have been cases of Chinese nationals returning to the mainland.

A Beijing health official told reporters Wednesday that Chinese students living overseas should "stop travel arrangements to return to China" unless absolutely necessary.

China also reported 11 deaths Wednesday, raising its toll from the virus to 3,237, and total infections on the mainland reached 80,894.