Wuhan began allowing people to leave on Wednesday for the first time since the central Chinese city was sealed off 76 days ago to contain the coronavirus that first emerged there late last year.

China took the drastic decision to cut off the city of 11 million people on January 23 after it became clear that the virus was highly contagious and potentially deadly.

The decision to lift the ban - albeit with travelers required to meet certain conditions - came despite fears of a second wave of infection if restrictions were eased too soon.

Within hours of the lifting of the ban, roughly 65,000 people had left the city by train and plane alone.