China Announces It Will Ease Coronavirus Lockdown on City of Wuhan Next Month

More than two months after first closing off the city, China has announced it will soon ease the lockdown on Wuhan.

The announcement was made Tuesday, per CNN's report, and also included word that "similar lockdown measures" would be lifted Wednesday for other cities in Hubei province. The move comes as the region has seen a dramatic drop in new COVID-19 infections, with one new case reported in Wuhan the same day. That case, according to provincial officials, was a Hubei General Hospital doctor. The majority of infections and infection-related deaths in China have occurred in the province.

Wednesday's changes include people in Hubei being allowed to leave the province as long as they have a green QR code on their phone indicating health status. Wuhan, however, will remain excluded from this allowance until April 8. At that point, green QR code-possessing residents will be able to leave the city and/or the province.

On the business side of things, they are aiming to resume normal operations at a gradual pace. Schools and other educational institutions, meanwhile, do not yet have firm dates for reopening their doors to students.

Here in the States, confusion regarding COVID-19 continues thanks to a lack of unity on how to handle containment efforts. Several states have implemented their own unique restrictions aimed at curbing the rise of new cases, while Trump—whose description of the novel coronavirus as the "Chinese virus" has received widespread criticism—is apparently hellbent on pushing for a nationwide reopening in the coming weeks.