In pics: Covid-19 epicentre Wuhan crawls back to normalcy after 76 days

Chinese authorities are now allowing residents of Wuhan to travel in and out of the sprawling city where the pandemic began

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The lockdown of Wuhan has finally ended after 11 weeks. Chinese authorities are allowing residents of Wuhan to travel in and out of the sprawling city, which was the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.

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After 11 long weeks, starting Wednesday midnight, the city's 11 million residents are permitted to leave without special authorisation, as long as a mandatory smartphone application powered by a mix of data-tracking and government surveillance shows that they are healthy and have not been in contact with anyone confirmed to have the virus recently.

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It didn't take long for traffic to begin moving swiftly through the newly reopened bridges, tunnels and highway toll booths, while hundreds waited for the first trains and flights out of the city, many hoping to return to jobs elsewhere.

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During the 76-day lockdown, Wuhan residents had been allowed out of their homes only to buy food or attend to other tasks deemed absolutely necessary. Some were allowed to leave the city, but only if they had paperwork showing they were not a health risk and a letter attesting to where they were going and why.

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The drastic steps came as the coronavirus began spreading to the rest of China and overseas during the Lunar New Year holiday in late January when many Chinese travel back home.

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Prevention measures such as wearing masks, temperature checks and limiting access to residential communities will remain in place in Wuhan, which is the capital of Hubei.

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Restrictions in the city where most of China's more than 82,000 virus cases and over 3,300 deaths were reported have been gradually relaxed in recent weeks as the number of new cases steadily declined. The latest government figures reported Tuesday listed no new cases.

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In an editorial, the ruling Communist Party's flagship People's Daily warned against celebrating too soon. "This day that people have long been looking forward to and it is right to be excited. However, this day does not mark the final victory," the paper said.

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Tickets for trains out of Wuhan to cities across China already were advertised on electronic billboards, with the first train leaving for Beijing at 6:25 am. A line designated for passengers headed to the capital was roped off, while loudspeakers blared announcements about pandemic control measures, such as keeping safe distances and wearing masks.

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China had blocked people from leaving or entering Wuhan starting January 23 in a surprise middle-of-the-night announcement and expanded the lockdown to most of the province in succeeding days. Train service and flights were cancelled and checkpoints were set up on roads into the central province.

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The occasion was marked with a light show on either side of the Yangtze river, with skyscrapers and bridges radiating animated images of health workers aiding patients, along with one displaying the words 'heroic city', a title bestowed upon Wuhan by Chinese President Xi Jinping.