Beijing has resumed its railway freight service between Wuhan and Europe by delivering medical aid to Germany as authorities work to lift strict quarantine measures after the number of new cases Covid-19 dropped.

A train loaded with medical supplies and construction materials has left a station in Wuhan, the capital city of China's central Hubei Province, and is set to arrive in the city of Duisburg in Germany in two weeks, Chinese outlet the Global Times reported on Saturday. The delivery will be the first China-EU cargo freight operation from Wuhan since the city was placed under strict quarantine in January after the Covid-19 outbreak.

The first ever Covid-19 cases were recorded in Wuhan in December, after which the city quickly became the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. Lockdown and the deployment of thousands of doctors helped to bring the number of new cases there to near zero in recent weeks.

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Authorities have been gradually easing travel restrictions in Hubei, with Wuhan's 17 train stations partially resuming work on Saturday. Residents with clean health records will be allowed to leave the city on April 8.

China was the leader in the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases for months, until the epicenter of the pandemic shifted to the US, where more than 100,000 people have tested positive for the disease, according to Johns Hopkins University. Italy has become the second-hardest-hit country in recent days with nearly 86,500 cases, surpassing China’s 81,300.

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