What’s new: The U.S. State Department has notified Congress that it plans to re-open its consulate in the Chinese city of Wuhan “on and around June 22,” after it shut the consulate in late January and evacuated personnel from the virus-hit city, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
“At the current time, conditions in China generally, and Hubei province specifically, have improved to such a degree that resuming operations in Wuhan is appropriate," the U.S. State Department said in a notice to the U.S. Congress, according to a CNN report.
Background: The notification came after the city of Wuhan, where the new coronavirus first emerged late last year, was declared free of the virus earlier this month after a campaign to test its entire population of 10 million found no infections. On January 25, the U.S. was the first foreign country to withdraw all personnel from its consulate in Wuhan as Covid-19 broke out in China, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
After 76 days of lockdown, Wuhan reopened on April 8, with rail, flight and other services resuming gradually. Since Jun. 6, travelers who arrive in Beijing from Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province no longer need to undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine. Direct flights between Wuhan and Beijing also resumed on Tuesday.
Contact intern reporter Ingrid Luan (ingrid.luanxy@gmail.com) and editor Marcus Ryder (marcusryder@caixin.com)
