BEIJING — Here are the latest developments on the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in China:

— Hospitals designated for novel coronavirus patients in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, will all return to normal operation by the end of March.

— China on March 12 sent a nine-person team to Italy to assist the containment of COVID-19.

— The Shanghai government announced on March 12 that all passengers arriving in the city from countries with high risks of COVID-19 will be quarantined for 14 days after their arrival.

— Beijing has converted the New China International Exhibition Center into a transit center for inbound passengers from countries with high risks of COVID-19.

— A leading group of China's COVID-19 response on March 12 called for more targeted prevention measures to stem the cross-border spread of the novel coronavirus and promised help for overseas fight against the pandemic.

— Renowned Chinese respiratory specialist Zhong Nanshan said on March 12 that if most countries act like China, attaching national-level importance to response efforts, the global COVID-19 pandemic could be brought under control "by June."

Zhong said China's experience can help the world avoid detours in their fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.

— The peak of the current outbreak of novel coronavirus disease in China is over. New cases keep declining and the overall epidemic situation remains at a low level.

— The Chinese banking sector has beefed up financial support for small businesses to weather the COVID-19 outbreak.

— The National Health Commission received reports of 15 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 11 deaths on the Chinese mainland on March 11. On the same day, a total of 1,318 people were discharged from hospital after recovery.

— The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 80,793 by the end of March 11, including 14,831 patients who were still being treated, 62,793 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,169 people who died of the disease.

— Six imported cases were reported on the mainland on March 11. Among them, three were reported in Guangdong province, two in Gansu province and one in Henan province. By the end of March 11, 85 imported cases had been reported.

— Central China's Hubei province reported eight new confirmed COVID-19 cases on March 11, all of which were in Wuhan, the provincial capital and epicenter of the outbreak.

— On March 11, Hubei reported 10 deaths, seven of which were in Wuhan. The latest report brought the total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the hard-hit province to 67,781.

— Hubei had seen no new confirmed COVID-19 cases for seven consecutive days in its 16 cities and prefectures outside Wuhan.

— China will work to shorten the negative list on foreign investment and encourage financial institutions to increase foreign trade loans to cope with the impact of the epidemic and keep steady progress in foreign trade and investment. Sound preparations will be made for the China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) this spring.