China appears confident that its coronavirus epidemic has abated

SEVEN WEEKS after cordoning off Hubei, the Communist Party is itching to declare victory over the novel coronavirus that has swept across the country from that central province. On March 10th the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, visited Hubei’s capital, Wuhan, for the first time since the lockdown. He spoke by videolink to patients at an army-run hospital there. He also visited a residential area (see picture) to see how Wuhan’s citizens—most of whom are still under orders to stay at home—are coping with quarantine. Mr Xi said the spread of the virus had been “basically” curbed.