Three years after the introduction of strict quarantine in Wuhan, where the Covid-19 epidemic erupted, life in the central Chinese city has returned to normal. virus at the time, leading to an increase in cases of pneumonia.
On January 23, 2020, the authorities ordered a strict quarantine in Wuhan to stop the spread of the epidemic before it spreads around the world, claiming millions of lives and causing the global economy to collapse.
However, life has now returned to normal in most countries. After three years of lockdowns, mandatory quarantines and infection detection campaigns, China almost completely lifted its sanitary restrictions in December.
On Monday, Wuhan shows no sign of the atmosphere of catastrophe that was inevitable in 2020. Despite the bitter cold, some residents take advantage of the Lunar New Year holiday to go to markets or take a walk along the banks of the Yangtze. A river while pensioners are exercising and kites are flying in the sky against the backdrop of a slightly cloudy weather.
“The new year that is starting will definitely be better. We are no longer afraid of the virus,” Yang Dongguo, a cleaner in her 60s, told AFP.
– “House of Hope” – A similar look of a young man delivering takeaway food on a small motorcycle.
“Everyone is back to normal. People meet with their families and friends, have fun or travel… they smile back,” Liang Feisheng told AFP.
“The worries and fears we had have subsided,” he added, putting on goggles and a muzzle to protect himself from the extreme cold.
In January 2020, the people of Wuhan were surprised by the lockdown announced in the middle of the night and enforced a few hours later.
Meanwhile, the entire world watched in amazement and fear on television as a health crisis began to develop into a worldwide pandemic.
Wuhan found itself completely cut off from the world for 76 days with train and airport closures, road closures, traffic disruptions and shop closures, while residents remained in their homes and patients flocked to hospitals.
However, the chaos of January 2020 is a thing of the past.
And the building that Agence France-Presse rented in front of the store at the beginning of the epidemic turned into an image of a dead man lying on the sidewalk that houses a new school called “House of Hope”, as if it were a sign. fate.
And the Huanan Seafood Market, which for some time was considered the epicenter of infections, has been closed forever since 2020.
Wide blue barriers still surround the abandoned complex, with a parked police car in front of it, according to Agence France-Presse.
And after China has long been considered a haven of health security due to its extremely strict measures against the virus, the country has seen its largest new outbreak of infections in weeks.
Epidemiologist Wu Zunyun, regarded in his country as a symbol of the fight against the virus, has estimated that about 80 percent of Chinese have contracted Covid since the lifting of health measures in December.
On Saturday, China reported 13,000 COVID-19 deaths in hospitals between January 13 and 19.
This number is limited to deaths reported in hospitals, in addition to the approximately 60,000 cases previously announced by the authorities for the period from December 8, 2022 to January 12, 2023.
This is certainly an underestimate for a country of 1.4 billion people, while many hospitals and crematoria are still overcrowded.