Wuhan, the epicenter of China’s coronavirus epidemic, will likely see new infections drop to zero by the end of this month, an expert with the country’s top panel on battling the illness said on Thursday, even as the city reported a quicker rise in new confirmed cases, reports Reuters.

Mainland China had 139 new confirmed cases as of Wednesday, the National Health Commission (NHC) said, bringing the total accumulated number of cases to 80,409. Authorities reported 119 new cases the previous day and 125 the day before that.

The increase reversed three straight days of declines, and was driven by a rise in new infections in Wuhan, the city where the virus is believed to have emerged in a seafood market late last year.

New infections in Wuhan climbed to 131 from 114 a day earlier. There was no immediate elaboration.

The number of new confirmed cases in Hubei, excluding Wuhan, has remained in single digits for seven consecutive days, with three new infections recorded on Wednesday.