Some factories are beginning to reopen, but labor shortages continue. In a recent poll of U.S. companies by Shanghai's American Chamber of Commerce, 78% said they lack staff to resume full production.
A total of 621 people from the cruise ship have now been confirmed to have COVID-19 — or about 20% of the 3,011 people who had been tested for the coronavirus disease as of Wednesday.
"It is important to know that these people being released from quarantine pose no health risk to the surrounding community," a CDC press officer said in a statement to NPR.
U.S. officials said the people infected with the virus were isolated from the other passengers. The two evacuation flights landed at military bases in California and Texas.
Chinese officials also said that six health workers have died from the disease now known as COVID-19. Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases worldwide rose to more than 64,000.
"Right now, the U.S.-China relationship is suffering from a deep deficit of trust," says Evan Medeiros, a former National Security Council chief adviser for Asia.
Most cases of the illness are characterized as mild, with symptoms similar to those of a common cold or the flu. But there have been over 1,300 deaths.