China’s fight against the coronavirus may get affected due to a rise in imported cases after 20 people from abroad were found with the infection, while the country only reported on new domestic case on Tuesday.

The single case in Wuhan will boost China’s view that it has “basically curbed” the spread of a disease that is believed to have emerged in a live animal market in the central city in December. Nine of the 20 new imported cases were in Beijing and three in Shanghai, raising the total number of confirmed infections from abroad to 143, according to the National Health Commission. China also reported 13 deaths, raising its toll to 3,226. The country has recorded 80,881 total cases, but fewer than 9,000 people remain infected.

How did China curb the spread of coronavirus?

Wuhan and its 11 million people were placed under strict quarantine on January 23, with the rest of Hubei province going under lockdown in the following days. Authorities tightened restrictions in the city even further on February 11, confining people to their homes as health workers faced a daily deluge of well over 1,000 cases — a move officials say was critical in containing the virus. Other cities across the country enacted further measures to compel most people to stay indoors, and no new domestic infections have been detected outside Hubei for many days in a row. But the country is now concerned about an influx of cases from abroad, with an average of 20,000 people flying into China every day.

The country’s progress stands in stark contrast with the growing crisis in other countries, with the World Health Organisation saying there were now more deaths and cases outside China. The number of deaths worldwide has passed 7,000, with more than 181,500 cases in 145 countries.

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