Wuhan returns to normal life – wondering what to believe
The sun is shining as customers queue at a goose restaurant, and in a nearby park gardeners tend the flowerbeds. Spring has arrived in Wuhan, where the coronavirus emerged late last year, and people trickling outdoors for the first time after months of lockdown are eager to return to normal life.
But it’s a gradual process for the city of 11 million, reawakening to a world that is both familiar and strange. Neighbours delighted to run into each other again, for instance, must now chat over the whirr of trucks spraying disinfectant along the streets.
Despite overwhelming relief that the worst of the pandemic seems behind them, unease hangs over the city as residents struggle to reach a verdict over the government’s handling of the outbreak.
“Ordinary people like us will never know the truth,” Long Menglei, 30, whose mother-in-law was severely ill with the virus for weeks, told The Daily Telegraph. “Still waters run deep.”
China reported nearly 83,000 infections and more than 3,300 deaths, and has claimed victory in what leader Xi Jinping dubbed the “people’s war” against the virus as case numbers subside.
But doubts have arisen over whether the numbers accurately reflect the outbreak, given overwhelmed hospitals, multiple revisions to how cases were counted, and the silencing of whistle-blowers.
Loved ones lost to what doctors strongly hinted was the coronavirus, but who were never tested, weren’t included in the official death tally. Countries including the US and UK have highlighted worries that Beijing’s potentially suppressed count impacted public knowledge of risks, seeding complacency and exacerbating the pandemic, which has exploded around the world.
Globally, more than 1.4 million people have fallen ill, and Italy has recorded the highest death toll at almost 16,500 – five times more than China. “It escalated step by step, and I think it’s because they didn’t handle it well in the beginning,” said Ms Long, adding that if authorities “had paid more attention to it from the start, it would never have developed into today’s situation”.
At the peak, there were 5,000 bodies waiting for urgent cremation at one of Wuhan’s eight crematoriums, a worker told The Telegraph – a far cry from about two dozen per day before the virus outbreak. His shifts, which began at 5.30am, would end after dark.
“I’m not clear about the total figures,” he said, declining to be named given the sensitivity. “Probably only some hospitals and the funeral affairs bureau know the real infection rates.”
Even people living in an apartment block just behind the crematorium said they couldn’t be sure how many bodies were transported in, as they were never allowed to venture outdoors. Hospital staff have also complained of little transparency in the process for recording and reporting infections to the authorities. One front-line nurse treating virus patients said dozens of medical workers had been infected where she worked. “I really don’t know the exact numbers,” she added, also requesting anonymity over fear of losing her job.
“The lockdown helped covering up for one of the most obvious reasons: when movements are severely restricted, it’s hard to know what is going on even around you,” said Yaqiu Wang, China researcher for Human Rights Watch.
From the start, authorities snuffed out information and criticised foreign governments for evacuating citizens and cutting flights, claiming that everything was under control.
Rather than rushing to caution the public, Chinese authorities downplayed dangers, hosting lavish holiday banquets with hundreds of people. China’s ministry of public security in late February announced 5,111 cases that involved “fabricating and deliberately disseminating false and harmful information” without providing details.
Nearly 900 people were penalised by police for online speech or information-sharing about the virus over the last three months, even as health officials claimed infection rates were subsiding.
Punishments included detentions, enforced disappearances, forced confessions and “educational reprimands,” said Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a network of advocacy groups that documented the cases on publicly available information, indicating the true scope of the crackdown could be much wider.
Police detained Gao Fei, 30, for eight days after he turned to social media to organise face mask donations to alleviate shortages. “They did not hear that we were short of resources,” he said. “As soon as you post something like that, they just panic.”
Others, like outspoken property tycoon Ren Zhiqiang, disappeared after posting an explosive essay criticising Xi Jinping, China’s leader, as a power-hungry “clown,” saying censorship had made the epidemic worse. Mr Ren is now under government investigation for alleged corruption.
Government control over the coronavirus has extended into the afterlife, as grieving families haven’t been allowed to visit cemeteries – the ruling Communist Party seems wary of groups gathering and griping about the government’s virus response.
Residents have begun to cotton on to government claims that the US military, or unspecified foreigners, brought the virus to China.
“There are so many rumours that the infection came in during the World Military Games [last year],” said Cheng Yong, 30, a hairdresser. “Or it could have been from foreign tourists, or something like that. You see now Chinese people aren’t travelling abroad, but the number of cases outside of China are so much higher.”
Experts, however, suspect the outbreak originated in a Wuhan seafood market, which remains sealed with police tape.
Although concerns persist about the reported infection numbers, many say the coronavirus must have cleared sufficiently if the government is confident enough to lift lockdowns.
Others effusively praised the government for apparently controlling the outbreak. “Now the whole world is dealing with this virus, and only China succeeded,” said Cai Yao, 34, who works for the city’s public works bureau. “We really have to thank the Communist Party.”
Curbs aren’t completely gone. Although transport links are coming back online, people must have a green health code – a clean contagion risk profile – in order to enter public areas.
“I’m still a little nervous and a bit agitated,” said Song Huangqin, 20. “The current epidemic isn’t completely over yet; there are still some risks at hand.”
Housing compounds continue to impose their own restrictions. Ms Song, for instance, is only allowed out for two hours each day.
Hotels used as quarantine centres and 1,000-bed field hospitals that went up in a week remain in use, with medical staff in hazmat suits and police standing at attention near entrances. Beyond the required face masks, some residents continue to don full protective gear, or improvised options – fabric shoe covers, plastic raincoats, knit gloves.
Virus reminders are broadcast on loop everywhere, including car GPS systems: “Limit outings, wash your hands frequently, put on a mask, and then you can go out.”
Risks loom large of a second wave occurring, which experts say could tick up silently. “It won’t be initially clear what’s happening – there will just be cases in the community where they are sporadically detected,” said Ben Cowling, division head of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Hong Kong’s school of public health.
“As time goes on, those numbers will gradually creep up,” he said. “I think it has most likely already begun.”
But Beijing seems so keen to declare the outbreak eradicated that coronavirus patients visibly still needing treatment are getting discharged. One woman posted online about her father who was released shortly after being taken off a respirator following a negative virus test – evidence he was “cured,” despite his severe symptoms.
“Now he is again in between life and death, because of district restrictions on patient admissions and authorities forcefully making numbers into zero,” she wrote, eventually finding a hospital willing to take him in.
“I think we should believe the government,” said Mr Zhang, 40, a tech worker enjoying sunshine after 70 days indoors. “There is no other possibility.”