Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak in China, reported 318 new confirmed cases on February 28, down from 409 cases on Wednesday. Wuhan reported 313 confirmed new cases from 383 a day earlier. Mainland China reported 9 confirmed cases, down from 24 in the same period. These numbers became the lowest the country had since January. Nationwide, China now has 78,824 cases.
With the continued positive development in the Asian country, big businesses have started to reopen stores and operations.
Starbucks said in a letter on Thursday that the company is now reopening 85% of its 4,300 stores across China. The first on the list is its Reserve Roastery in Shanghai. China is the coffee giant's largest market next to North America.
"With the new number of new cases in China slowing, we are seeing the early signs of a recovery in the region," Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson wrote.
Meanwhile, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that factories in China that supply parts to the iPhone maker have already commenced operations. The tech giant has reopened 32 of its stores in China with only 10 stores closed indefinitely. Four stores in the country are going back to normal working hours.
"It feels to me that China is getting the coronavirus under control. I mean you look at the numbers, they're coming down day by day by day. And so I'm very optimistic here," Tim Cook said in one interview on Thursday.
As health experts continue to fight the outbreak, other provinces have turned to address isolated cases that are connected to the virus. For instance, Wuhan officials are busy tracking down an inmate who was freed even after testing positive for the virus. The national government is now investigating local officials who were responsible for what happened.
In Qianjing, officials will pay residents 10,000 yuan if they tested positive after voluntarily surrendering to health officials. At least 4 more provinces are implementing the reward system.
So far, here are the confirmed and new cases in all provinces in China:
Hubei 65596 (new 2641)
Guangdong 1347 (7)
Henan 1272 (20)
Zhejiang 1205 (1)
Hunan 1017 (4)
Anhui 989 (6)
Jiangxi 934 (1)
Shandong 756 (6)
Jiangsu 631
Chongqing 576 (6)
Sichuan 534 (3)
Heilongjiang 480 (13)
Beijing 410 (5)
Shanghai 337 (3)
Hebei 17 (6)
Fujian 296 (1)
Guangxi 252 (2)
Shaanxi 245 (1)
Yunnan 174 (2)
Hainan 168 (5)
Guizhou 146 (2)
Tianjin 135 (3)
Shanxi 133
Liaoning 121 (1)
Jilin 93 (1)
Gansu 91 (2)
Hong Kong SAR 91 2
Xinjiang 6 (2)
Inner Mongolia 75
Ningxia 72
Taipei and environs 32 (1)
Qinghai 18
Macao SAR 10
Xizang 1
