Once at the forefront of the novel coronavirus pandemic, China has revealed for the first time since the outbreak began months ago that it has zero new domestic cases to report. Officials with China’s National Health Commission announced eight new deaths connected to the illness at a Thursday news conference. They also reported another 34 cases of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, all of which were imported from abroad.
The new numbers could mean a huge turnaround for China, the first nation to implement strict travel and quarantine restrictions on millions in a bid to stop the coronavirus outbreak. It also marks the first time Europe has surpassed the number of Chinese cases, highlighting the outbreak’s shift to other nations, including Italy, where the stats continued to look grim this week.
The nation on Wednesday recorded its deadliest day since the virus was discovered in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December and then quickly spread to the rest of the world. A total of 475 people died from the coronavirus in a 24-hour time span, bringing the Italian death toll to just under 3,000. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte also announced Thursday that the nationwide lockdown set to end on March 25 will be extended until at least April 3. It includes a shutdown of most businesses and a ban on spotting events and other large gatherings.
States across America in recent days have also started implementing similar shutdowns and restrictions in a bid to curb the virus spread. In New York, Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo continued to battle Wednesday over whether to quarantine the city while California mulled imposing martial law.
