Beijing, March 6: Since China began publishing day-wise data on coronavirus cases in the country, it was the first time when no new case was reported in Hubei province outside Wuhan city - the epicentre of virus outbreak. The data released by China's National Health Commission on Friday showed that all the positive cases recorded in the last 24 hours were restricted to Wuhan, from where the COVID-19 originated.

A total of 126 new cases were reported by the Commission, with all of them being recorded in Wuhan. A total of 30 deaths were also confirmed, with 23 among the deceased belonging to the Hubei provincial capital. With the latest casualties, the overall fatalities in Hubei province jumped to 2,931. Across China, the death toll climbed to 3,042. Coronavirus Live Map: How to Track The Spread of COVID-19 Across The Globe With This Dashboard.

Senior Chinese researcher Zhang Boli, who is part of the 14-member panel constituted by Beijing to study the methods that can be used to curb the virus outbreak, had predicted that by the onset of March, fresh cases would be restricted only to Wuhan. By the end of this month, the disease epicentre would also stop reporting any new cases, he claimed.

"According to our analysis of the statistics, we expect cities other than Wuhan in Hubei province to be basically free of coronavirus patients in the middle of March,” Zhang was quoted as saying by People’s Daily. “The hope is that Wuhan won’t have daily new cases in late March," Boli was reported as saying by the state-run People's Daily.

Even as the South East Asia now sees a decline in coronavirus cases, the disease is rampantly spreading in other parts of the world, including the West. The United States has recorded 107 cases in the past one week, along with 11 fatalities. Italy, where over 2,000 cases have been recorded, confirmed the death of 107 infected patients. In Iran, the death toll has neared to 80.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 06, 2020 09:29 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).