Hubei begins normal road operations

China is resuming normal operation of road traffic in Hubei province, the country's hardest-hit region by the novel coronavirus, to facilitate the province in returning to normal economic activity.

According to a notice issued Tuesday night by multiple departments including the Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Public Security, intra-province bus service in Hubei will be resumed starting on Wednesday, with the exception of provincial capital Wuhan.

Wuhan will start to provide inbound and outbound bus services from April 8, it said, adding people holding a green health code in the city, meaning no contact with any infected or suspected coronavirus cases, will be allowed to drive their own vehicles out of the province at the same time.

People with green health codes in other areas of the province are able to drive out of Hubei from Wednesday, it said.

It also noted Beijing will not resume intra-province bus services, and urged transport authorities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, along with public security departments, to mete out harsher punishment to operators of illegal vehicles.

Transport departments in Beijing and Hubei should work closely to help Beijing residents stranded in Hubei to return to the capital, it said.

Authorities will also step up "point-to-point" chartered bus services to help migrant workers return to their workplaces, according to the notice.