China appears confident that its coronavirus epidemic has abated

SEVEN WEEKS after cordoning off Hubei, the Communist Party is itching to declare victory over the novel coronavirus that has swept across the country from that central province. On March 10th the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, visited Hubei’s capital, Wuhan, for the first time since the lockdown. He spoke by videolink to patients at an army-run hospital there. He also visited a residential area (see picture) to see how Wuhan’s citizens—most of whom are still under orders to stay at home—are coping with quarantine. Mr Xi said the spread of the virus had been “basically” curbed.

Official figures are certainly encouraging. On the day of Mr Xi’s trip only 19 confirmed new infections were recorded in China, down from thousands at the peak of the outbreak in February. About three-quarters of the 80,000 or so people known to have caught the virus in China are now said to have recovered from it. Officials in Wuhan have closed makeshift wards in public buildings such as sports centres and exhibition halls. Local governments in less-affected parts of Hubei say they are beginning to relax travel restrictions in the hope that people can get back to work. China is now stressing the importance of making sure that travellers from countries where infections are rising do not bring the pathogen with them. On March 11th city officials in Beijing said passengers flying into the capital’s airports from abroad must spend 14 days in self-quarantine.