China says there were 40 new confirmed cases of coronavirus on Sunday 8 March, compared to thousands a day at its peak.

China has reported its lowest rate of new COVID-19 patients since January.

At its peak, China was reporting thousands of new infections per day.

The government says its tough measures including quarantining entire cities have stopped the spread of the virus.

“Fourteen makeshift hospitals were created. Eleven of those have now suspended operations or have been closed because there are not enough patients. So obviously that’s a good sign,” Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu reported from Beijing.

“We’ve also heard today that there was a leaked document from Wuhan airport, advising staff to be ready to go back to work on March 10. They’re not necessarily going to start flights on March 10, but Wuhan airport is starting to think about getting up and running again, which is a very big sign.”

Of more than 80,000 people infected in China, over 67,000 have now recovered, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

For more on this story, watch this video edited by Al Jazeera NewsFeed's Hassan Ghani.

Source: Al Jazeera News