The date comes more than two months after the city was first sealed off from the outside world, in an unprecedented bid to contain the fast spreading virus.

Starting from Wednesday, people in Hubei, except for Wuhan, will be allowed to leave the province if they have a green QR code on their mobile phones.

Hubei has previously ordered all its residents to obtain the color-based QR code -- which comes in red, yellow and green -- and acts as an indicator of people's health status.