(Bloomberg) --

Most of China is now considered low risk and should return to normal work and life, Premier Li Keqiang said at a government meeting on the coronavirus, which is spreading rapidly in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere.

Efforts will be made to accelerate the resumption of work, and any barriers to the flow of people and goods in low-risk areas should be removed, Li said, according to a statement on the government’s website. He said there is no need to impose quarantine on people in low-risk areas.

China was the epicenter of the outbreak, which has infected more than 217,000 people as cases climb dramatically in countries such as Italy and Spain. With more than 80,000 infections and 3,245 deaths, China has been the hardest hit worldwide, but there were no new cases reported Thursday in Wuhan, where the outbreak began, and the numbers have tapered off around the country.

China is now imposing tighter restrictions on inbound travelers to avoid the return of infections.

(An earlier version of this article incorrectly spelled Li in second paragraph.)

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.