What’s new: Hubei province, the initial epicenter of China’s Covid-19 outbreak, has lowered its public health emergency response level from the most severe to the second highest as of Saturday, according to a local briefing (link in Chinese) the previous day.
Following the move, all of the Chinese mainland’s provincial-level regions have lowered their responses from the highest level as the outbreak eases. The Chinese mainland on Friday reported (link in Chinese) just one new case of the virus, an imported one, and no additional deaths.
What’s the background: Hubei and other provincial-level regions moved their emergency response ratings to the highest level in late January when the virus was spreading rapidly in the country.
But as of Friday the province had no patients being treated for the disease, the local government said. Still, it urged continued vigilance due to risks from asymptomatic cases and some patients who continue to test positive for the virus after recovery.
Before Hubei’s announcement, the cities of Beijing, Tianjin and surrounding Hebei province also downgraded their emergency response from the highest level on Thursday.
Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full Caixin article in Chinese, click here.
Related: Beijing Lowers Public Health Emergency From Highest Level
Contact reporter Guo Yingzhe (yingzheguo@caixin.com) and editor Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com)
