As China goes back to work, many wonder if the country's coronavirus recovery can be trusted

As the United States and much of the rest of the world locks down over the novel coronavirus pandemic, China is cautiously opening back up. Travel restrictions in place across most of the country are gradually being relaxed, and next week people will be allowed to leave Wuhan -- where the virus was first detected late last year -- for the first time in more than two months.

But as China appears to be turning a page on the virus, new questions are being raised about how much the numbers being reported can be trusted, and whether the worst of the outbreak has truly passed. That was a suggestion Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying angrily refutedThursday, saying the country "has been giving open, transparent and timely updates to the world."

"On international public health security, we should listen to World Health Organization and experts on epidemiology and disease control rather than several politicians who are habitual liars," she said. "In fact, just yesterday, a senior WHO official refuted unwarranted accusations on 'China's untransparent data' in a press conference in Geneva." She accused officials in the US of trying to "shift the blame" due to the "severe situation" that country is facing.

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