In China, newly confirmed cases of coronavirus infection are falling

CHINESE OFFICIALS call it “waging war on two fronts”. One involves battling the coronavirus that has infected more than 74,000 people in China and killed about 2,100 since it was discovered in the central city of Wuhan in December. The other is a struggle to revive the economy. The daily number of newly diagnosed infections has mostly fallen since February 13th. But a month after imposing the most extensive quarantine measures ever enforced during an epidemic, most local governments are hesitant to ease up.

Some coastal cities have made it easier for businesses to obtain approval before resuming work and have eased requirements for returning workers to provide proof of their health. But controls remain harsh. Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, is still under the tightest lockdown. Since late January it has been all but sealed off from the rest of the country. Until mid-February residents of Wuhan—a city more populous than London—had at least been allowed to stroll in the streets. But lately the authorities have stepped up the “wartime measures” that officials have put in place to fight the spread of covid-19, as the disease caused by the virus is known.