The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the global new coronavirus outbreak first began late last year, has eased travel restrictions after more than two months of lockdown.
The 11-million-population city in China’s Hubei province was placed under near total lockdown in January, with residents forbidden to leave and drastic restrictions implemented on daily life.
Bus and taxi services were also shut down while only essential stores were allowed to stay open.
The relaxing of the restrictive measures on Saturday saw cars in the streets and people commuting across the city, marking a key turning point in China's fight against the deadly virus.
People are now allowed to enter Wuhan overland, but they have to show a green code on a mobile application to prove that they are healthy.
Authorities said exit restrictions, however, would remain in place until April 8 and Wuhan’s airports would also open for domestic flights on that date.
Reports indicated that despite the easing of restrictions in the city, temperatures of passengers were being monitored by medics dressed in full body protective gear and police kept a watchful eye on passers-by to prevent new outbreaks.
The novel coronavirus, which causes a respiratory disease known as COVID-19, emerged in Wuhan in December last year, incrementally infecting some 200 countries across the world.
More than 598,000 people worldwide have so far been infected with the virus and over 27,000 have died, according to a running count by worldometers.info.
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