Passengers scrutinized and welcome in full combination: the Chinese city of Wuhan, the cradle of the new coronavirus, gradually reopened to the outside world on Saturday after more than two months of almost total isolation.
Very symbolically, the first authorized passenger train since containment stopped soon after midnight at Wuhan station. The image went around the local media. On board, dozens of residents trapped since the end of January outside the city when the authorities decreed a quarantine in an attempt to stem the epidemic.
“With my daughter, we were all excited when the train approached” Wuhan, smiles a 36-year-old woman who did not want to give her name. Because of the closures, it had been ten weeks since she last saw her husband. An eternity for his daughter. Seeing him, “she rushed to her father, I could not help crying,” said the young woman to AFP.
Another passenger arriving on Saturday said that she had been stranded for two months in Canton (south) more than 900 kilometers after the cancellation of her flight.
Partial reopening, until April 8
Until then, no one could enter the city, except for medical personnel and those responsible for transporting essential goods. But since Wednesday, the authorities have gradually lifted the restrictions. However, the reopening is only partial. Residents will have to wait until April 8 before leaving Wuhan, when the city’s airports will also reopen.
And in the other direction, the new arrivals are combed through: temperature measurement, identity check and questions about their previous trips. They must also present on their phone a QR code which acts as a pass and which certifies that they are “healthy”. These formalities are carried out in front of personnel wearing masks, protective glasses and full body suits. Some arrivals were seen with a double mask on their faces while others were wearing gloves.
The first cases of coronavirus appeared in December in Wuhan. And the city is paying a heavy price for this epidemic, with more than 50,000 people infected and more deaths than any other city in China (2,538). On Saturday, three more deaths were announced by health officials. But the numbers have dropped dramatically in recent weeks.
Wuhan, “low risk” area
A local official said on Friday that Wuhan is now considered a “low risk” area. This situation contrasts with the end of January, when at the height of the epidemic, AFP journalists noted long lines of patients in front of overwhelmed hospitals.
“It has been more than two months since I returned to Wuhan, I have the impression of returning from abroad,” comments Gao Xuesong, an employee in the automotive sector. Despite these constraints, long lines of travelers were waiting to board for Wuhan, AFP said at Shanghai train station some 830 kilometers away. The return to normal is however gradual.
If the Wuhan metro reopened on Saturday and the main bus lines are back in service, some shopping centers remain closed. And the locals, always protected by masks, avoid crowded places. The authorities have also warned against unnecessary displacement which may encourage the spread of the virus.
The entrances to many residences remain barricaded and most of the streets were quiet on Saturday, AFP noted. “The sound of the wheels of my suitcase seemed surprisingly loud” when I got home, commented on Saturday on the social network Weibo, a resident of Wuhan.
With AFP
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