China revokes ‘fake’ directive to vacate foreigners from Wuhan

The local government of Wuhan has denounced an announcement that the Chinese city of Wuhan would relax some of its travel restrictions and allow some people to leave.

The city at the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak that has already killed more than 2,500 people said it would continue to impose strict controls over its borders in order to prevent the virus from spreading further.

The people responsible for the earlier announcement have so far been reprimanded.

The earlier announcement came amid signs that the spread of the virus in China was slowing, with more than 20 province-level jurisdictions reporting zero new infections on Sunday and several regions lowering their emergency response levels.

Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have originated, has been under lockdown for a month. It reported 348 new infections on Sunday and 131 deaths.

The city alone has seen an accumulated 46,607 cases of infection, amounting to around 60% of China’s national total.