More than two months after the coronavirus outbreak emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, President Xi Jinping has put on a major show of confidence by visiting the stricken epicenter.

The spread of the epidemic has basically been contained in the country, Xi said during his tour, adding that after hard work from authorities the situation is now gradually improving.

The president’s visit marks a significant moment in the global outbreak, with new cases of the virus slowing to a trickle in the country where the disease first emerged.

At its worst, Hubei province was reporting thousands of new cases per day. But on Monday, China’s National Health Commission announced only 17 new cases in the province.

Meanwhile, Europe is grappling with a growing outbreak.

In an unprecedented and potentially legally fraught move, the whole of Italy is under lockdown.

The country has the highest number of confirmed cases outside China, at 9,172, and 463 deaths.

The drastic measures include blanket travel restrictions, a ban on public events, the closure of schools and public spaces such as movie theaters, and the suspension of religious services including funerals or weddings.

Nearby Spain has also seen a rapid rise in confirmed cases to 1,204 and 28 deaths. As of Wednesday, schools and universities in the heavily-hit Basque Country will be suspended.

Top-flight football matches in the country will also be played to empty stadiums for the next two weeks, in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus.

The European Parliament is also cancelling «non-core» activities — including things like committee hearings, seminars, cultural events, and election observation missions.

Elsewhere, Iran continues to see its number of cases rise — now more than 8,000 with almost 300 deaths. It’s the second-highest number of cases outside of China, after Italy, and the Middle East country has suspended Friday prayers for two weeks running to cope with the spread.