CNN Correspondent David Culver, CNN

CNN Correspondent David Culver, reporting from Shanghai, joined CNN's coronavirus town hall to describe the improving situation in China.

Just a few weeks ago, the country was reporting thousands of cases a day. Now, it's down to about a dozen a day on average — a huge drop.

"What we need to stress though is that it did not start out this way," said Culver. "Early on, go back seven weeks, they had allegations of cover ups, allegations of underreporting, really only 200 tests a day for a sitting population of 11 million."

Remember: Whistleblowers in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, like Dr. Li Wenliang, tried to warn people and sound the alarm as early as December — but were punished and censored by local officials. Li later died of the coronavirus.

What changed: The central government's involvement, Culver said.

"They pushed out the local government. They said, we're taking control. It became a military-like operation. They began ramping up production of face masks. Our daily lives changed drastically."

What China looks like now: Things are slowly getting back to normal, now that the outbreak seems largely contained in most of the country.

"Just today the parks are reopening in Shanghai, restaurants have given the all clear to have as many people as they need to party-wise to come in and book a table. Tourist attractions are starting to reopen," said Culver — a jarring difference from life in China just weeks ago, when people didn't dare go outside, and when major cities felt like ghost towns.