Coronavirus-hit Wuhan partially lifts curbs on people's movement; death toll reaches 2,592

China has partially eased restrictions in coronavirus-hit Wuhan, permitting people who are infected with virus or stranded to leave for first time after a month as death toll climbed to 2,592 while number of confirmed cases increased to more than 77,000, officials said Monday.

People who are t quarantined and seeking special treatment or stranded in Wuhan can leave in batches, according to local authority in Wuhan, city of 11 million, which is epicentre of virus.

China locked down city on January 23, followed by entire Hubei province with over 50 million people. Wuhan is provincial capital of Hubei. Over 18 cities from province have been sealed in lockdown.

residents were allowed to leave city since n, including several hundred foreigners, mainly students.

India has evacuated 647 Indians and seven Maldivians by operating two special flights. India is awaiting permission to airlift over 100 more.

A number of countries have evacuated ir nationals. Pakistan, which has over 1,000 nationals stuck re, is yet to respond positively to ir pleas to evacuate m.

Meanwhile, death toll climbed to 2,592 with 150 new fatalities while total number of confirmed cases increased to over 77,000, health officials said on Monday.

country's National Health Commission (NHC) said it received reports of 409 new confirmed cases of vel coronavirus infection and 150 deaths from 31 provincial-level regions on Sunday.

overall confirmed cases on Chinese mainland has reached 77,150 with a total of 2,592 fatalities by end of Sunday, NHC said.

Hubei province and its provincial capital Wuhan, ground zero of virus, continued to bear brunt with 149 death while one person died in Hainan Province, it said.

NHC also highlighted that recovered coronavirus patients have outnumbered new infections for sixth consecutive day, indicating stabilisation of virus situation in China.

Sunday saw 1,846 people walk out of hospital after recovery, much higher than number of same day's new confirmed infections which was 409, state-run Xinhua news ncy reported.

A total of 24,734 patients infected with coronavirus have been discharged from hospital after recovery by end of Sunday, NHC said.

Meanwhile, China-World Health Organisation (WHO) joint expert team visited Hubei Province, epicentre of 'COVID-19' outbreak over weekend to conduct field investigations, NHC said.

experts visited Tongji Hospital, Wuhan Sports Centre that was converted into a temporary hospital, and provincial centre for disease control and prevention to learn about epidemic prevention and control as well as medical treatment, it said.

y also talked to officials and experts in province and briefed NHC director Ma Xiaowei on ir findings and suggestions, it said.

President Xi Jinping presided over a high-level meeting of officials on Sunday to review progress of his government's efforts to contain virus.

He warned that China's coronavirus epidemic is still "grim and complex" and called for more efforts to tackle country's "largest public health emergency".

President Xi, who attended a meeting here to double efforts in coordinating prevention and control of COVID-19 outbreak, said epidemic "has fastest transmission, widest range of infection and has been most difficult to prevent and control".

"This is a crisis for us and it is a big test," he said.

meeting, in form of tele-conference, was presided over by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

Xi ackwledged that epidemic will "inevitably have a large impact on ecomy and society" but effects will be "short-term" and controllable.

" epidemic situation remains grim and complex, and it is w a most crucial moment to curb spre," Xi ded.