Honda resumes limited output at plant in virus-hit Wuhan

TOKYO -- Honda Motor Co. on Wednesday said that limited operations had resumed at its production site in Wuhan, the epicenter of China's coronavirus outbreak where some workers returned to their jobs after a month-long shut down of offices, schools and factories.

The Japanese automaker said that it would gradually resume vehicle production at the plant, which produces popular models including the CR-V crossover for the world's biggest auto market.

Earlier in the day, government authorities in Wuhan, a major manufacturing center in the country, lifted restrictions on a limited number of key industries in the city, allowing some people to return to work.

Rival Nissan Motor Co., which also operates a vehicle manufacturing plant in Hubei province, plans to partially resume production at the site along with another plant in Zhengzhou, Henan province, sometime this week, a company spokeswoman in China told Reuters.